Appendage to a Love Story
by BellaOnCoffeeCups
Summary: Filling in what could have happened in the Gail/Holly story of season five off screen. Imagine they had more than about 10 minutes of screen time, it may have looked something like this. May continue the story post season-five, if I get to that point. May later increase to M rating.
1. Chapter 1

_Basically this fic will be fleshing out the plot of the Golly story of the 5th season, starting at the end of 4x13, as it felt (to me) like we were missing out on large amounts of what would have been an otherwise decent storyline. So whilst I will be sticking to the general plotline, I think there seemed to be so much happening that we didn't get to see on screen, that I will be able to actually have some sort of creative input with regard to the plot of the story, and I do plan on some chapters having no content from the episodes themselves in them. I may have to bump up the rating at a later date, but for now it is a T._

_With regard to this chapter, I've had a bit of a nightmare with tenses and subconsciously switching between the past and present. I've tried to go through and correct it all to be in the present tense. But even though I have double checked the chapter for errors, I would be surprised if there weren't any there, particularly when it comes to the tenses. So I'm sorry if that is the case._

_Also I grew up with British and Canadian family and have lived in both, so my use of the English language is a bit of a transatlantic hybrid of spellings, but rest assured I will never write the words 'Color' or 'Liter' (Sorry USA). But I do apologise for the inconsistencies. _

_Characters, story, plot; all not mine._

_Thanks for reading!_

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God, this is horrible. Gail slips into the hospital waiting room. Her skin is still hot and her cheeks are damp and her eyes are red even though she's spent the past ten minutes staring into the mirror willing them to return to a somewhat normal colour. Pushing her phone into her pocket, she sidles up to where Steve is standing alone, hands in his pockets, looking slightly awkwardly at the officers around him.

"Hey, are you okay?" He reaches out an arm towards her as she approaches him. "Do you want a tissue or something?"

Gail shakes her head as she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm fine." She mutters.

"Where did you go?"

"Washroom. I had to call someone, she's... uh, she's on her way over." She sniffs and blinks, trying to compose her face, although she is fairly certain it was in no way working.

Steve's expression changes from concern to slight confusion at her choice of pronoun "Who?"

"It's uh... Holly, you... saw her earlier. She came to see me at the precinct, when you were telling me to not get myself killed."

"Is she a friend of yours?" He probes, slightly taking advantage of Gail's emotional instability to obtain some actual information about his guarded sister's life.

"I... don't know. We were friends, but I think, maybe... maybe I ruined that. I don't know." She can feel the heat in her eyes and blinks again, more ferociously this time, to stop any tears from emerging.

The confusion doesn't leave Steve's face but he gives his sister a weak smile, uncomfortable and upset at seeing his sister so visibly shaken. "Well, she's coming here, right, so she can't completely hate you?"

"I don't know. She's so nice she'd probably come anyway. But I care about her, a lot. Like, really, really care about her." Her voice tails off as she speaks and she can see Steve trying to process her words out of the corner of her eye as she looks awkwardly down at the ground.

But then she hears the rustling of a coat and the steps of someone running towards them, and when she looks up and recognises the face in front of her, Gail can do nothing to stop herself from throwing her arms around the neck of the woman stood before her. She holds on longer than she has ever consciously held onto another person in her life, so overwhelmed with relief that Holly is here, that she barely hears her speaking.

"I'm really glad that you're here." She murmurs before finally breaking their embrace, taking a moment to look properly at Holly's worried face before turning back to her brother.

"Steve, this is Holly, Chris this is Holly." She says, making the probably slightly unnecessary introductions to the men who both know who the woman in front of her is, in an attempt to show Holly that she's not actually trying to hide her from her friends, without actually having to say 'This is the girl I think I might be falling for and spent a good five minutes kissing in the conference room yesterday.' At least not while she's still not convinced that Holly would even accept her into her life like that now.

"Hey, how's it going?" The corner of Steve's lips turn up slightly and he nods warmly, suspecting he may now have an idea what Gail was earlier implying, but appreciating his sister's need to not make grand statements about her emotions or be interrogated on something which seems to be so new and fragile in her life.

Gail turns back to look at Holly, and the brief but sincere smile that appears on the other woman's face shows her that she appreciates the gesture. Gail's tongue darts out to moisten her lips, preparing them to say something she hasn't yet thought of.

"Do you um, want to...?" Gail gestures over to the seats, and Holly nods, smiling in a manner Gail perceives as nervous; her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and her hands moving to push her glasses up her nose even though she'd only done that less than a minute previously, and the spectacles couldn't actually be any closer to her eyes already.

As they walk over towards the seats, Gail looks back at her brother, flashing him the smallest of smiles and just noticing him start talking to Chris before she turns back to look where she is going.

Holly stands next to the seats, still looking slightly nervous, and waits for Gail to lower herself tentatively down into a chair before taking the seat next to her.

Dark eyes look up and down the blonde cop's body; she is sat tensely on the edge of her seat, looking anxiously off into the distance. Holly relaxes back slightly into her own seat, hoping Gail will loosen up and follow her lead, but no such luck.

"Hey," Holly speaks up, softly, after a few minutes of sitting in silence. "Are you okay? I mean, is there anything I can get you?"

Gail turns to look at her friend, her whole body shifting slightly to face her. She notices that nervous expression still has not left Holly's face, and her brow furrows slightly in response.

She coughs slightly, quietly, before she speaks. "No, it's okay. I'm just happy you're here."

"Of course I'm here."

"You look worried... about something?"

Holly smiles sadly at the pale woman. "I'm worried about you, Gail. I don't like seeing you this upset. And I'm really glad you're alive and everything because I've been terrified all day that you might not be, but I hate that you look so distressed."

"You're not... angry about what happened earlier?"

A wave of confusion spreads over Holly's face.

Gail sighs slightly and elaborates "At the precinct, you know; when I, you know, blew you off." She winces and looks away as she says it, not really wishing to acknowledge her less than exemplar behaviour out loud.

Holly relaxes and leans forward, placing a hand tentatively on Gail's thigh in an attempt to comfort her and show that she holds no ill feeling towards her. "Gail." She says in her absolute warmest voice, which Gail silently notes is quite an achievement, as she considers Holly's voice to always be the softest and most reassuring she has ever encountered.

Gail turns her head up to look into the dark eyes that are sadly surveying her.

"That wasn't your fault, I shouldn't have come and intruded on you like that, it was atrocious timing on my part. And I have this tendency to just jump head first into things and I never really considered that maybe for you, the middle of your workplace, surrounded by everyone you know probably wouldn't have been the first place you'd want to see me after the whole interrogation room thing..."

"Holly" Gail tries to interrupt.

"... and obviously when we _were _in the interrogation room, emotions were running kind of high so I could understand if maybe you think it was a mistake or something, so I don't want to pressure you into anything and I hate that by turning up at the station you may have felt like I was asking you for something you didn't want to give..."

"Holly" Gail coughs to catch the brunette's attention when it becomes clear repeating her name isn't going to do the trick.

"Hm?" Holly starts to retract her hand from Gail's leg but has barely left the fabric of the officer's trousers before Gail's hand is on top of hers, intertwining her fingers between the pathologist's fingers, over her knuckles, returning her hand to where it had been resting on Gail's thigh.

"I don't think it was a mistake. And part of the reason I was upset was because I thought I'd blown... whatever this is, already. I thought you were going to tell me we couldn't be friends anymore, or whatever we are."

Holly's mouth curls up into her trademark half smile. "You haven't blown anything. I mean, we should probably talk... not right now, but at some point. But I'm here, in whatever way you want me to be."

Gail gives an actual genuine smile for the first time since she arrived at the hospital. "Do I look all blotchy and horrible?"

Holly bites the corner of her lip gently. "Your, uh... your eyes are a bit red, yes."

Gail scrunches her face up in disgust, the idea that almost everyone she knows and cares about has seen her looking like this making her feel so uncomfortable she wants to curl up in a ball and never see any of them ever again. Except for Holly.

"I have a compact if you want to have a look?" Holly suggests.

"No, it's okay. Probably better if I don't know, I don't exactly have any makeup or anything on me to fix it." Gail sighs. She would love more than anything to get up and leave, get away from the inquisitive eyes she can feel occasionally glancing over and she and Holly and their interlocked hands. But even she, the ice queen of 15 Division, can't bring herself to abandon everyone when they don't know what is going to happen to Chloe and Sam and Oliver... oh Oliver.

She feels her eyes brimming with tears at the thought of her partner, locked up by this police-hunting maniac, taken when she should have been around to back him up. Granted she wasn't expected to be with him at that exact point, but he was still _her_ partner. And he seemed like he was going to be fine; he was alive and considering the circumstances, relatively well. But Sam, and Chloe. Maybe not so fine. And even though Chloe is possibly the most annoying person she's ever met, and she's never held anything other than a slight distant admiration for Sam, a couple of tears escape her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

"Hey." A soft voice beside her says, and Gail knows that her tears have not gone unnoticed. She feels Holly's thumb rubbing her leg, comfortingly.

Holly has to work desperately hard to stop her other hand from reaching up and wiping the tears from Gail's face, and from embracing her once again and stroking her hair and letting the blonde woman feel comfort in her arms. She gets the feeling that even though Gail may want her here, and may possibly return the feelings Holly holds for her, that may be crossing a line, for now.

And Gail just can't work out how to stop the tears from falling. Because she doesn't cry; she doesn't let emotions take her like this. But something that has happened in the past few days, be it realising that the feelings she held for Holly were no more than a simple harmless crush, or the intense passion of the short minutes they had spent together in that interrogation room, or the knowledge that Chloe, a person she had said only one vaguely nice thing in the entire time they had known each other, could just die at any moment, or the guilt she felt at knowing she had hurt Holly when she gave her the cold shoulder at the precinct, or the idea that Oliver may have died and she hadn't been there to do anything about it, or the devastation on Andy's face now Sam could be dying too; one of those things, or all of them, had destroyed the cold, emotionless walls she has so carefully built up, and now they are coming cascading down around her. And she can't just sit there and hold the person she wants to hold the most in the world, and sob into her shoulder until she has no tears left inside of her, because it is so new, and beautiful, and delicate, and this is Gail; she is the bull in the metaphorical relationship china shop, and she doesn't want to smash everything yet.

It's so new. Gail looks up and looks around through her silent tears and is surprised to see that they have garnered very little attention. She sees Chris looking at them over her brother's shoulder as the two stand in conversation, but the tears are making him blurry and she can't tell if his look is one of surprise at her clutching the hand of the woman next to her, or concern at the tears still slowly running down her face. She blinks, trying to rid the stinging water that has pooled in her eyes, but by the time Chris has come back into focus his attention has returned to her brother.

Looking further around the waiting room she notices that Nick, too, is gazing in their direction, leaning forwards in his seat with his hands under his chin. But his stare seems unfocussed and Andy is sitting uncomfortably next to him and it doesn't take a genius to work out what is going on there, so Gail doubts that there is much room in her ex boyfriend's thoughts for any opinion on whose hand she is holding.

As she scans the rest of the room Gail catches Traci's eye, and after her friend's eyes drop ever so momentarily to the hands on her leg, she gives a small encouraging smile, then returns to the conversation she was having previously.

But this encouragement only causes a creeping sense of guilt to emerge in the pit of Gail's stomach. Of course no-one cares that Holly is a woman. And Gail holding her hand is such a small, insignificant detail in the life of anyone other than Gail herself. Especially when there is all this tragedy and hurt going on around them.

And she wants to do more, to show Holly that she cares, but she can't think of any gesture that wouldn't be too bold. People may not care that there is something happening between them, but there are certain... conventions when it comes to the interactions between two people who have just come together, particularly in open, emotionally charged, public places like hospital waiting rooms. And Gail has certainly never been one for obvious public displays of affection anyway.

She removes her fingers from between Holly's, which, to be honest was becoming slightly uncomfortable anyway; hands are meant to be held palm to palm, not palm to knuckle. She runs her hand up Holly's arm towards her elbow, and then around to the inside of her arm, and down towards the inside of her hand, lifting it from its position on Gail's leg. She squeezes it, and Holly looks deeply into Gail's eyes, returning the squeeze. Gail gets lost absorbing every detail of Holly's face as their hands fall back down, this time to the seat, where Gail once again finds herself placing her hand over the top of the brunette's, this time wrapping the ends of her fingers around the edge of the hand underneath, anchoring them to the seats as Gail tears herself from the darkness of Holly's eyes and looks vacantly off into the distance.

They haven't moved by the time the doctor comes out to speak to Frank. Instinct makes them rise to their feet, their hands falling apart, preparing for any bit of news that may be about to come their way, but when Gail realises that very little has changed, she falls back into her seat, this time slumping against its back instead of sitting nervously on the edge.

Holly joins her, and has only returned to her seated position for a brief moment when she feels Gail's head fall down onto her shoulder. She looks down to see the blonde's eyes fluttering shut, her chest rising and falling with her slow breathing. She reaches across to put a hand on Gail's leg again, and this time the police officer grasps it with both of her own and holds it in her lap, slowly stroking it with one of her thumbs, until Holly notices the movement has subsided and her breathing has become shallow.

Holly loses herself in her thoughts as she waits for an appropriate moment to rouse the sleeping girl on her shoulder. She is shaken from them only at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Is she asleep?" The woman Holly recognises a Detective Nash asks quietly, as she looks hesitantly at the pair, Steve stood at her side with his jacket in his arms.

"Yeah, I think so." Holly replies, but the voices seem to have awoken the sleeping blonde, and her face scrunches and turns to rub itself into Holly's shoulder.

"She has a name" Gail murmurs, quiet but sharply. She stretches her fingers, releasing Holly's hand from her grasp and finally turns to look up at the couple in front of them, squinting at the light.

Steve looks between the two of them. "Frank's asked us to head back to the station, we can drop you two home on the way if you want? You don't need to be back on duty until the morning."

"It's okay, I brought my car, but thanks." Holly smiles up at him, grateful for the offer.

Steve turns to his sister. "Are you, um, going back with Doctor Stewart?" He asks cautiously.

Gail turns to look at Holly, aware that this is not a question they had broached, and that the answer she wants to give may potentially be seen as coming loaded with expectations and implications. "I probably need to go dump my uniform at the station." She eventually says, when Holly doesn't seem to give her a sign as how to answe.

Holly nods understandingly, and smiles. They both stand and follow Steve and Traci out into the car park.

When they reach Steve's car, both women slow down and look at each other hesitantly, waiting for Traci and Steve to get into the car and fall out of ear shot.

"You know, once you're done at the station you can come around to mine, if you don't want to be alone or something. I can cook up something to eat, you must be starving. We can watch a film or you can just go to sleep, whatever you want." Holly is looking down at her feet as she speaks, but looks up as she finishes, trying to gauge what is going on in the mind of the woman before her, wary of overstepping a line she has not yet identified the location of.

Gail smiles slightly and takes one of Holly's hands in her own. "I would like that. I'll get Steve to drop me off."

"Will he mind?"

"He's my brother; he'll do it, or I'll threaten to tell Mum he's got a new girlfriend." She smirks slightly, and Holly feels a warmth growing inside her at the return of Gail's slightly less friendly side. The side that keeps her endlessly amused and suggests that maybe Gail is starting to return to a happier, or at least more usual, state of mind.

"Okay, well, I'll see you soon then?"

"Yeah. Thank you, for all of this." Gail squeezes Holly's hand and flashes a look at the car before leaning in and placing a quick but gentle peck just to the right of Holly's mouth, before letting go and darting in through one of the back doors of her brother's car.

Holly smiles and looks up at the sky, before turning on her heel and heading back to her own vehicle on the other side of the car park.

It does not take Gail long to change in the empty locker room, but she does take a few moments to reapply the makeup that her tears had washed away and hide the few remaining signs of her earlier breakdown. Locking her things away, only taking her phone out with her, securely in her jacket pocket, she glances in the mirror on her way out, adjusting her scarf slightly as she does so.

When she leaves the locker room, Steve is leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, looking at his phone.

"You ready?" He asks, looking up at her and pushing himself off the wall.

She nods and follows his lead as he starts walking towards the car park.

"So am I dropping you off at the frat house?" He asks as they climb into the car.

Gail bites her lip slightly and doesn't turn to look at him as she speaks. "I was actually hoping you'd be able to take me to Holly's. She doesn't live very far."

He nods slowly as he turns the key in the engine. "Okay. Which direction."

She points right down the road as they pull up to the car park exit, and he turns and drives down the road.

Apart from Gail's occasional directions, they don't speak as they drive, the quiet music coming from the radio, and Steve's light drumming along on the steering wheel, the only noises between Gail's brief words.

Gail finds her hands fidgeting in her lap as they draw nearer, something Steve notices out of the corner of his eye.

"Have you been here before?" He asks eventually as they turn onto Holly's road.

Gail turns to give her brother a slightly open mouthed, scrunched up, 'duh' look. "I just directed you here off the top of my head, what do you think?"

Steve presses his lips together for a moment. "Right, of course."

"It wasn't like you're thinking. Just watching TV and stuff, and I stayed the night when I burnt my hand at that grow-op." She says, turning back to carry on looking out the window.

"It's this one". Gail indicates to a house just in front of them, and Steve pulls the car up to the side of the road.

He ducks down to look up at the building through the windscreen. "Nice house."

"Yeah, well that can happen when your parents let you do something other than be a cop."

Steve looks worriedly over at his sister. "Well, you've done well. Nice one."

Gail turns sharply to look her brother in the eye, a slightly scathing look in her eye. "I don't like her because of her paycheck."

"I know, I didn't mean..."

"I should get inside." Gail starts to open the car door and undo her seatbelt.

"Gail."

She turns slowly to look at him once again. "What?"

"I'm happy for you, for finding someone, for moving on from Nick."

"Whatever, it's all new; don't get your hopes up for Gail's great romantic happy ending yet." She pushes the door fully open and steps out of the car, turning to duck her head to look at her brother before she shuts it again. "Thanks for the lift."

She turns to walk up the pathway to Holly's house, pulling her phone out of her pocket on her way, finding one message from five minutes ago sitting on her home screen.

_Holly: Door's unlocked, let yourself in_

She slips the device back into her pocket and hears Steve's car pull away as she reaches the front door, turning the door knob and pushing it open into the home.

Thanks for reading! Please leave reviews and ratings, they inspire me to keep on writing (even the negative ones because I'm a bit of a perfectionist who likes to keep on improving all the time).

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_I'm aware that this is not the most imaginative or original idea for a story, but it just felt like something I really wanted to do. But I do have an idea sitting in the back of my head for an AU fic. And if all goes well and I have enough time (I am moving in two weeks so that's up in the air at the moment), I would like to continue this story on past 5x11 to write about what happens in Gail and Holly's lives after the end of the season. If only to keep myself sane whilst I have no new TV shows I really want to be watching. Although I know that plenty of other writers are writing great fics of this persuasion, so once again, I am not being entirely the most original._

_Thanks again!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry this took so long, I got about half way through then I just hit a complete block and couldn't write anything I was happy with, and the dive into Gail's subconscious was completely emotionally draining me, so I hit a bit of a wall, and went back to watch about 20 episodes of Rookie Blue in an attempt to 'really understand' Gail. Then preparing to move back to Canada again meant I didn't get a chance to work on it, but whilst I was on the plane I got a solid chance to work, and I managed to smash down that wall. But then I couldn't write again for a while because I was busy searching for a place to live. But now I have an apartment and I've found some parks I can sit and write in again, so I should be better prepared to write the next chapter._

_That said, I'm not as happy with this chapter as I was with the previous one, I think I got overly introspective at points and it just didn't come to me as naturally. But I've been working on it so long I'm just biting the bullet and publishing. Also I may have proofed it after a few beers so maybe that won't be so perfect. I once again had trouble with the tenses, so I am particularly sorry for any mistakes there._

_Thanks for reading!_

_(Also sorry I posted this chapter twice, but I noticed a couple of major editing errors once I posted the first time and I couldn't bring myself to just leave it, so I'm sorry if that impacted anyone in any way!)_

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Holly is cleaning up in her kitchen when she hears a car pull up in front of her house. She looks out of the window over her front yard to see a familiar figure clambering out of the passenger seat. She turns to put some of her newly cleaned plates in her cupboard, and when she turns back to look out of the window again, Gail is walking up the front path, looking at her phone, and Steve is pulling away in his dark SUV. Returning to polishing her kitchenware, Holly looks up again only moments later when she hears the front door being pushed open.

She can tell before she's even properly laid eyes on the police officer, just from the way Holly can hear her coming through the door, that the Gail who has entered her home this evening is once again a violent storm of bottled up emotions on the brink of explosion. There is no hesitancy in the way she opens the front door and no particular care in the manner in which she closes it again. This is not the crumbling, fragile woman of an hour ago. Both are highly emotional and dangerously volatile; but in the hospital, all the defences Gail had built up had faded into nothing, she had made it clear that she needed someone to hold her and help her make it through the hours. Now, those walls have returned, higher than Holly has ever seen them, and it is clear that this Gail is not searching for someone's shoulder to cry on.

And whilst Holly knows that suppressing emotions of this intensity does nothing to actually make you feel better, and certainly does not make them go away, she also knows Gail. She knows that Gail certainly does not appreciate others trying to worm their way, uninvited, in to join her in the wasp's nest she buries herself in and force her into the head on confrontation with the feelings she so desperately avoids.

So when Gail comes charging into her kitchen with clearly no intention of stopping to dissect her feelings with Holly, the brunette knows she has to attempt to find a way of halting the one woman war path without making Gail feel Holly is pressuring her into opening up to her.

"Hey… You hungry?" She tries, knowing that on most days, food would be one of the vices of Gail's that may be able to distract her from the task of ensuring that her defences were steadfast and unyielding.

Gail, however, is opening and closing Holly's cupboard doors, in a desperate search for something Holly thinks she can guess the identity of.

"Nope, I only want alcohol."

Yep, she was right. Unfortunately. The other of Gail's vices. The one far more likely to facilitate a potentially dangerous eruption of emotions, an eruption Holly is slightly fearful of witnessing.

"Uh, um, it's up there." Holly knows that attempting to stand between Gail and her liquor cupboard would be one of the more futile tasks she attempts in her life. "But why don't you eat something first?" She knows before she says it that the chances of that succeeding in slowing Gail down are virtually nil, but she can't not try.

"Yeah okay, if it's got alcohol in it." Gail is unable to look Holly directly in the eye yet, knowing that she still feels vulnerable enough that one look from her pleading dark brown eyes would cause Gail to stop and engage with her feelings just long enough to facilitate a minor breakdown in the other woman's kitchen. The idea of which horrifies her. The brunette notices the lack of eye contact and feels slightly heavy hearted as a result. It doesn't bother her that Gail marches around her kitchen with the confidence of someone who owns it, as it would some people. Because that's just Gail, and Holly holds great affection for the way Gail pays no heed to those sorts of societal norms. But that she won't look at her after exposing so many of her vulnerabilities such a short time ago; that stings a little.

"You okay?" Holly tries, giving up on trying to distract her, but trying not to sound too probing.

"I'm fine, not like I'm the one who got shot." The bite to Gail's tone doesn't surprise Holly in the least, but she finds she has to keep trying to get Gail to open up even though she knows the likely outcome is that Gail is just going to push her away.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left the hospital."

"Holly, there are thirty other cops waiting around, there's really no point me being there. Nobody's looking for my shoulder to cry on." Gail finally makes eye contact with the other woman, now reaching a brazen place that no affectionate looks or amiable warmth can remove her from.

It breaks Holly's heart that Gail believes nobody cares about her. She hates that Gail feels alone and isolated and disliked, when there is so much about her to adore. "Gail…" she tries, wanting to wrap her up in her arms and make her feel loved, but it doesn't take anywhere near Holly's level of intelligence to know quite how much of a bad idea that would be right now.

"You know what though? We could go back as the big… gay distraction. Yeah, let's… let's give people something to talk about. I mean, now that I've come out to my brother that juice bit of news is just gonna fucking spread like herpes." Gail almost looks gleeful as she says it, even though she can tell she is starting to hurt Holly now. Because this, this impudence… this is normal to her, it's comfortable. Tearing up in front of her colleagues whilst someone strokes her hand, exposing herself in front of almost everyone she knows; that perturbs her, looking back on it makes her feel anxious and self-conscious. And she's almost proud of the fact that Holly's slightly crestfallen expression isn't making her stop or feel guilty. She pours herself another glass and grabs the bottle, carrying both upstairs to where she can deal with her emotions in the way she always does; alone, and with hard liquor. "There's no going back now, girlfriend. There ain't no going back." She says without looking back as she marches up the stairs, stepping slightly more heavily than is probably entirely necessary.

Holly watches her leave, letting out a long, slow, sigh as she does so. But she knew, from the day she met her, that Gail is a package deal, and the tendency to become this closed off and belligerent when she feels this vulnerable is part of that package. She can do little but hope that one day Gail will learn that she can open up to her, that she can trust her and know that Holly will think no less of her for doing so, even if she won't with anyone else. And to Gail's credit this is the first time she has lashed out at Holly; she knows, from what Gail has told her, and from what she's overheard from other officers at the morgue, that it is usually a fairly regular occurrence. And this has been a far more draining day than most.

She forces herself to stop concentrating on justifying Gail's impertinence to herself, and get something to eat. Gail may be happy surviving on Bourbon for the night, but Holly needs actual sustenance. She'll have a bowl of cereal and a mug of hot chocolate, and then, if she hasn't reappeared in ten minutes, she'll search out the antagonistic blonde roaming her second floor.

~x~

It's actually fifteen minutes before Holly decides to head upstairs, concerned that if she forces her way into Gail's personal space before she's had the time to calm down a little, she will lash out again. As she climbs the stairs she can hear music, which as she walks down her hallway she identifies as coming from her bathroom.

She stops and knocks on the door. "Gail? How much longer are you going to be in there?" She calls, but there is no reply. "Hey. Please confirm existence." She tries again, starting to worry slightly about what may be happening on the other side of the door. She was at least expecting Gail to shout something biting back at her, not to be received by complete silence.

"I'm coming in." She calls again, before cautiously pushing the door open. She pokes her head around the piece of wood separating her from the blonde, and she certainly could not say that the sight before her is one she expected. Gail is leaning over her sink; her ponytail, severed from the rest of her hair by Holly's scissors, in her right hand, while the scissors lay next to her left.

"Who cares right? It's only hair." Gail says, all the harshness that was in her voice a quarter of an hour ago evaporated.

This was it, this was the emotional eruption Holly had been wary of. It was more mellow, but no less drastic, than the hysterical tantrum she was expecting.

Holly takes the reduction in the combative tone of Gail's voice as an indication that the walls that were earlier keeping Holly out have crumbled again, and that she can enter the room, turning the music down as she does so.

"So, this is happening?" She says, aware that she needs to speak but not entirely sure how exactly to deal with this unfolding breakdown.

"Yeah," She says as if it's the most normal thing in the world. "I saw your scissors and I just thought oh, 'yaaay', there's something I can just… rewind." Gail steps backwards and sits herself on the floor, leaning back against Holly's dresser, severed ponytail in hand. She looks up at Holly. "You see this inch, this inch is from the academy. This inch is from the first six months on the job. This inch is from when I was dating Chris. That part's when Jerry died. And then you see these last few inches. That's round two with Nicholas." She explains, waving the symbol of all that has caused her hurt and pain in the past few years out in front of her as she speaks. She reaches again for the bourbon bottle and taking a swig as Holly approaches her.

"Okay, but honey…" the brunette starts to say as she lowers herself down to take a seat.

"No, look, look, look," Gail interjects. "There's literally no bad inches 'cause I'm just gonna go back to the beginning and I'm rewinding everything and I…" She lifts her hands up to touch her hair, and the reality of what she has done starts to dawn on her. She emits a sound that even she can't work out is more a sob or a laugh. "Oh my God, what I do? What I do?"

She raises her hand to her mouth to cover what is now most definitely the start of a sob as Holly speaks.

"You cut off all your hair." Holly says, in a voice that is somehow both matter of fact and filled with warmth.

Gail emerges from behind the hands she was using to hide her whimpers so that she can speak. "I'm freaking out a little bit aren't I?"

Holly nods, her face filled with a slight bemusement at the current situation. "Yeah." She sees Gail nodding slightly too. "But that's okay."

Gail looks up at her incredulously. "I have to go to work in the morning, Holly. Look at me."

"The hair situation isn't ideal." Holly agrees, trying to give her an encouraging smile. "But this has been such an intense day for you. That stress was going to manifest itself somehow. But I went through medical school, I saw more dramatic reactions to stress than this every year at exam time. Sometimes you just need to do something crazy to release it. And I might be able to fix the hair, if you'll let me?"

Gail nods slowly. "You'd do that?"

Holly smiles and ducks to look into Gail's eyes. "Of course. Get in the tub, I'll get the scissors."

~x~

Gail climbs over the edge of the bath and sits herself down in the middle, whilst Holly positions herself on the edge, and starts work on shaping the brutal haircut into some sort of style. They speak only for Holly to confirm that Gail is fine with the direction Holly is taking her haircut in, the silence otherwise allowing Holly to concentrate on doing a respectable job with the scissors, and Gail to mull over the events of the past few hours.

It overwhelmed her to look up at Holly and feel herself overcome with affection for the brunette before her. More affection than she had ever anticipated. And certainly more than she would admit to out loud. But that overwhelming feeling becomes more bearable to her with each thing Holly does for her. By turning up to the hospital, letting her raid her cupboards for alcohol without complaint, and now by sitting here sorting out the mess she had made of her hair, Holly is teaching Gail that she was someone she could, for the first time in her life, really, really rely on. She is opening Gail up to the idea of letting someone into her life, and she doesn't completely hate it.

But as she'd stood in front of that mirror with Holly's pair of scissors in her hand, she'd known that as much as she was slowly accepting the depth of her feelings for the brunette, it didn't either make her entirely comfortable. These feelings so new, and intense, and worryingly dependent on another human soul. A human soul that made her feel woefully inadequate. With her history of screwing up and hurting people, she was an incredibly poor example of a person who should be in an intimate relationship with someone. History had proven that one to be true.

But her relationship with the universe wasn't a one way thing. She'd given the world shit, but the world had delivered her equal amounts of shit in return. Perick, that fucking undercover assignment Nick and McNally went on, that first year on the job when all the rookies but Chris looked at her like her being there was causing them some major offense, her mother, Chris dumping her solely for letting someone else in under her defences, this whole Ford thing. She just wanted to forget it all, be someone new, someone better. And that was when the hair came off. She thinks. She was riding quite the emotional high at the time, so who knows what ideas were being fed into her mind by those hormones.

And the alcohol. That probably didn't help either.

Holly was right, there had been something cathartic about slicing off a large chunk of her hair, like she was releasing a weight of negative energy she had pent up inside her; lingering anger at the world and the way it had treated her in the past few years.

She is still trying to negotiate the complex maze that is her emotional state as Holly is finishing up on her hair. And all she's really found is that she really, really wants to let Holly know just how much she cares about her. To make sure she is completely aware that the fact that she is a woman doesn't bother her, and that she just wants to be with her. She's always going to be a mess, but she wants to be Holly's mess. But of course, because she _is_ such a mess, actually conveying that is something Gail considers quite problematic. The idea of exposing so much of herself, even to Holly, terrifies her. Because she already knows Holly could destroy her.

Or even worse, she could hurt Holly. She knows she has already. The desperately anguished look on her face when she'd compared the news of their relationship to a venereal disease, and even earlier when she straight up rejected her before heading out to find Ford; that was proof that Gail was incapable of having anyone in her life who she couldn't cause hurt to when she was feeling lost or angry. And it_ had_ been hurtful; it wasn't just the regular snark she dished out on a daily basis to keep herself amused; Holly gave as good as she got when it came to that, it was one of the many things Gail liked about her. She had been explicitly harsh to her in a way that screamed 'I really don't want to be around you right now'. And she hated herself for it. But here Holly was, nonetheless, fixing her hair like no hurtful words had ever been said. No-one else would do that for her. But that doesn't mean it won't happen again, no matter how hard Gail tries. Because her mess is emotionally immature and closed off and incredibly impetuous.

But for all those concerns about causing hurt and getting hurt, Gail just really wants to go back to the warmth and comfort of kissing the beautiful woman in front of her. To forget about everything else that has happened in the past days and just _be_ with Holly. Feel her and hold her, and be felt and be held. And as an added bonus that may help with the 'letting Holly know that she wants to be her mess' thing.

Holly can almost hear the other woman's brain working to process her situation. She finds her more and more beautiful the longer she works on fixing her hair. Literally seeing her beauty from every angle as she works on different sections has left Holly somewhat mesmerised. And amazed that she ever thought they could just be friends. She adores the Gail who wanders through life letting the world snarkily know exactly what she thinks of it. But Holly always suspected that the exposed, vulnerable woman before her lay underneath that, and that Gail is letting her be witness to it warms her heart, even if the alternative for Gail would have been having to go to work looking slightly reminiscent of David Bowie in Labyrinth. She cherishes this side of Gail just as much as the one she usually displays to the world.

"Urgh, life." Gail murmurs eventually, staring vacantly at a spot on the wall behind Holly.

"I know right, who needs it?"

"You can plan, plan and prepare but it doesn't really matter because things just go where they're gonna go."

"Yep, sort of like this cow lick." Holly smiles to herself at the comparison.

"I'm sitting in a bathtub, waiting to hear if my friends are still alive, drinking bourbon with the coolest chick ever. And I have no hair." Gail looks up at Holly as she says it, and sees the corners of her mouth turn up at the use of the term 'coolest chick ever'.

"Not exactly a fairy tale."

Gail is looking up at Holly with an intensity she hasn't seen in the blonde's eyes before. And even though she has no idea what the blonde is thinking, somewhere in that deep, sober stare there is an encouraging warmth.

"No." Gail murmurs.

"Still kinda beautiful though." Holly sets the scissors down and reaches forwards to hold Gail's chin, partly to straighten her head in order to observe her handiwork, but mostly just to re-establish the physical contact between the two she has been craving since they left the hospital.

"Oh really?" Gail continues to look deep into Holly's eyes as she gives her a sceptical look. A look of complete sincerity that once again lays out before Holly Gail's insecurities; her complete lack of belief in the impressiveness of her more striking features. It is this, Holly tells herself, that prompts her to make a move to draw herself closer to the blonde; to reassure her of the magnificence that she sees in her and wash away her self-doubts. Although if she were to be really, truly honest with herself, Holly would probably have to admit that she would have moved herself closer to the officer even if she did not feel the need to convince her of her desirability.

"Yeah." Holly says it with such warmth and heart, that any lingering doubts and fears Gail had in her head at that moment are washed away, and she finds her gaze, not lessening in intensity, dropping to the lips of the brunette woman crouching in front of her.

Holly can almost see the longing in Gail's stare. She cups her cheeks with both hands, tenderly stroking her thumbs across her cheeks as she does so, drawing their faces closer together. She notes that Gail's expression never falters, even as she gently runs one of her thumbs lightly over one side of her bottom lip, and whilst Holly is the one who moves most of the way to meet Gail's lips with her own, the younger woman does lean into it and falls into the kiss just as willingly as Holly from the moment their lips first collide.

Gail marvels at the tenderness of the encounter; slower and softer than their urgent and desperate dalliance in the interrogation room. She feels security in the way Holly's hands ever so slowly move down her jaw, whilst still cupping her cheeks affectionately. And whilst she craves more of Holly; to hold more and feel more and experience more, she also wants to stay in this pure and gentle moment forever.

It feels like an age for both of them before Holly pulls back, when it is only a matter of seconds, but what does the truth matter in comparison to this incredible, reality distorting chemistry?

When she speaks, she does so quietly. "Come on, let's wash this mess down the drain." She says, not wanting to remove her forehead from its position of rest against Gail's until she absolutely must. If she weren't so swept away by the passion of the moment she would probably have taken a moment to be proud of the double meaning to her words.

Their eyes never leave each other's faces as they pull stand up. They are only on their feet for a few moments before their hands seek out a hold on each other. Each place a hand around the nape of the other's necks to pull themselves into another kiss, one with slightly more need but somehow just a much tenderness as the kiss moments earlier.

However need wins out, and their lips start to move together in a way that would have left them breathless and gasping for air if Holly hadn't, to Gail's surprise and confusion, broken away to drop down and turn on the water to the shower head.

"What are you doing?" She asks vacantly, still lost in their embrace, not removing her hand from its hold on Holly's side until the rush of cold water to the top of her head causes her extremities to spasm in shock.

"Oh my God, it's freezing!" She screams. Every muscle in her body clenches as the coldness spreads from her head to her toes. Even the warmth from Holly, whose arms have returned to wrap around Gail's body and hold her close can't prevent the involuntary movements her body is making and distract her from the overwhelming chill that is making her groan out in horror.

Not until Holly's hands return to her cheeks and her mouth is once again enveloping her own, that is. She is still giggling in shock when their lips first collide, but it does not take much for her to fall back into the passion of their kiss, her hands first grasping Holly's shoulders before moving up to hold her face. Need overcomes her, and the pounding cold on the back of her neck is forgotten, along with everything else in the world as their lips work together; their hands holding each other's faces in this place and time, except for a brief moment when some instinct tells Holly to grasp Gail's hand in encouragement.

And Gail takes it, slipping her tongue past Holly's lips, eager to taste again what she only so momentarily got to experience what felt like days earlier in that interrogation room.

Every so often Gail can feel Holly's lips curling up into a smile against her own, and they break apart for mere moments, not breaking their holds on each other's faces, for Gail to succumb to an involuntary excited and slightly dumbfounded giggle. Which only causes Holly's smile to grow greater until one or the other of them deepens their kiss again and both become lost in the movements of the other's mouth.

They stay like this, their hands rooted on each other's heads keeping the other from pulling back, although it is clear to both neither has any intention of doing so. It feels like desire, but not just a desire for sexual gratification; a desire to hold and cherish as well as to discover.

Their foreheads eventually come to a rest upon each other's, so they can only breathe in each other's air and can only smell each other's scent.

Gail enjoys the intimacy and comfort of Holly's hands caressing her cheeks. She opens her eyes to see that Holly's glasses have been completely covered with water, obscuring and loosens her grip on Holly's cranium slightly in order to slide them off her face and hold them tightly in her hands as they reach around to grasp Holly's waist, slipping her glasses into her back pocket as she does so.

Holly smiles and opens her eyes, immediately meeting the bright blue orbs only centimetres from her own. She glances down quickly and observes Gail's nervous smile before returning to look deeply into those eyes that are surveying the movements of her face so intently.

Her eyes drift shut again as she speaks. "I should turn off the water."

Gail nods slightly but makes no moves to loosen the grasp on Holly's waist. Holly strokes her cheek with her thumb and Holly can feel the grip tighten.

Holly lets out a long breath that Gail can feel against her face. The brunette ghosts her lips against the other woman's cheeks as she finally moves to turn the shower off, Gail's hands never removing themselves from Holly as she does so.

When she stands again she kisses her way up Gail's neck before returning to rest their foreheads against each other again, eyes closed.

"I'm sorry." Gail murmurs, her eyelids fluttering open so she can try and read Holly's eyes, but when she sees that they are closed to, she gives up and shuts them again.

"For what?"

"This evening. I didn't mean to get all 'me' on you. I just wanted to go to bed and hold you but I guess I got all freaked out or whatever."

"We can still do that."

"I don't know if I want to anymore."

Holly's eyes open, deeply buried concerns about Gail regretting her brief dip into the land of lesbian rising quickly to the surface, but before she has a chance to vocalise them, Gail has pulled her back into a kiss.

Holly's left hand buries itself in Gail's newly cut hair as her right returns to trace her jawline. She shudders as she feels Gail's cold hand slip under her shirt and trace the skin of her lower back, but it is not the temperature of the touch that makes her do so.

Her right hand drops instinctively to grip Gail's arse and pull them so tightly together not a single ray of light could pass between them.

Gail feels a burning in her core as Holly's hand pulls them tight against each other, and her hands roam slowly further up the other woman's back, marvelling at the smooth, wet skin they find there. She pulls herself from the kiss to give Holly a questioning look, tugging her shirt even higher as she does so.

Holly looks at her deeply for a moment before nodding slightly and Gail pulls the shirt up over her head and throws it on the bathroom floor, the water it has soaked up causing it to land with quite a thump.

Holly leans in slightly but Gail lifts a hand to her cheeks and holds her back gently, as she steps back slightly, leaving Holly's arms resting loosely on her shoulders; and drops both of her own hands to run slowly down Holly's side and across her chest, gliding over the muscles of her torso. Her eyes follow her movements closely, absorbing every centimetre of olive skin she can find. She is captivated by its smoothness, by the way she goes from being soft at the curves of her waist, to hard and toned across her abs. She is particularly taken by the plain silver stud she finds at her bellybutton, and the dark moles she discovers occasionally dotted across her frame. She circles each a couple of times before continuing her journey.

Her hands are cold but Holly doesn't find herself wincing at the temperature, but enjoying the gentle, purposeful touch, and the curious but hungry look in Gail's eyes. Every so often Gail will trace her fingers over a particularly sensitive area, and she will tremble slightly under her touch, causing Gail to look up at the brunette for a moment, with eyes getting ever darker with lust and desire.

Gail's hands trace her collarbone and start to head south across her chest before they come to a halt less than an inch above the upper edge of her laced black bra. She looks up into Holly's eyes once again, a nervousness now creeping across her face.

Holly smiles gently and drops one of her hands to cover Gail's, guiding it down to trace the skin above her bra tenderly, before guiding it up to her lips to grace it with the lightest of kisses, before returning it to its position on her breast

Gail leans in and ghosts her lips against Holly's. "You're so beautiful." She whispers.

Holly gives in to the desire rushing through her body that she has been holding at bay so Gail can continue her tender explorations, and pulls her into a deep kiss, dropping her hands to explore the skin under Gail's jumper at her lower back.

She breaks their kiss when her mind registers the goosebumps she finds covering Gail's back.

"You're cold?" She murmurs.

"Only a little, it's fine." Gail turns her attention to Holly's neck, coating it in small but wet kisses.

"No, we should… we should dry off… get out of the bath." She tries to concentrate as Gail works down towards her collarbone.

"Mmm." Gail continues kissing her.

"Gail." Holly says softly, and Gail lifts her head slightly.

"We should dry off. Warm up."

"You're keeping me warm." Gail says into Holly's neck, but when she looks up into Holly's dark brown eyes she relents. "Fine." She sighs, placing a quick and tender kiss on the other woman's lips before turning and stepping out of the bath. "But if you think I was anywhere near done there you are gravely mistaken." She says, grinning as she chucks a towel at the topless woman still standing in the bathtub.

* * *

_Thanks for reading, please do leave reviews, I appreciate feedback of all varieties, especially on chapters I struggled with like this one, I can read it over and over again to myself but it can still be hard to see exactly where the improvements need to be made!_

_I try to keep the parts that happened on screen as close to the original as possible (which involves a lot of watching their scenes over and over again just to be sure; poor me), but I did add in a swear in this chapter. But that's honestly because I do believe that it was implied that's what was being said, but couldn't be because it's not that kind of show._

_I promise more actual plot in the next chapter! (And the next few chapters will all be off screen filling in the blanks between Episodes one and three, and believe me when I say I have plenty of ideas about how to fill those blanks)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Yay! Managed to write this chapter in less than a week, which probably had something to do with actually having somewhere to live now, but still. Bodes well for future chapters!_

_As per usual, all mistakes are mine, particularly those pertaining to tenses, and I own nothing. _

_I enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you enjoy reading it. It was a relief to be focussing on Holly a bit more because as I said in the previous chapter, getting too deep inside Gail's head is hugely exhausting._

_I appreciate all your feedback, thank you; keep it coming!_

* * *

Holly wraps the towel Gail has thrown at her around her shoulders and steps out of the bathtub. The blonde is watching her every move; cocooned tightly within her own towel and shivering slightly, but with a dazed smile creeping across her lips.

"You should probably take those jeans off." Holly suggests once she is stood in front of the other woman.

Gail raises her eyebrows sceptically. "Is that the best you've got? I was expecting some slightly better moves from you, Holly."

"I have moves, Gail. And I just meant because they're dripping wet and you're so cold you're shaking. And you know that."

Gail ignores the second half of the taller woman's statement. "You think you've got moves? Show me your moves, Holly." She takes a step closer to the other woman, her darkened eyes looking deeply into Holly's own.

"You couldn't handle my moves." Holly tries her hardest to keep a serious and confident face on, but she can feel the corners of her mouth pulling slightly, trying to break out into a grin.

Gail doesn't once break eye contact as she runs her tongue across her lips, the sight of which makes Holly shiver slightly. "Try me."

Holly returns the blonde's intense stare, but neither will move to close the gap that remains between them. Holly's finds herself biting down on her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating the idea of taking Gail right here against the bathroom door, against all her better judgement. She blinks, temporarily shaking the idea from her mind, before pulling the towel off from around her shoulders and dropping it on the blonde's head, lightly rubbing it over her hair.

"Dry your hair officer, I don't want you dropping any remnants of your old haircut all over my, oh so lovely, carpets."

Gail shakes the towel off of her face, her arms still cocooned under the other towel, and glares at Holly, pouting. It is the single most adorable thing the forensic pathologist has ever seen, and she can't help but grin.

"I knew you didn't have any moves. You're _such_ a nerd, have you ever actually pulled a woman before, Holly?"

Holly raises an eyebrow at her, smirking. "No, Gail. I'm saving myself until marriage."

Gail sniffs. "Weird kind of morals you have; letting random women touch you up in the shower."

"Lapse of judgement." Holly's face is filled by her trademark lopsided grin, as she stops drying Gail's hair and takes the towel to dry off her own torso. "Don't worry, I definitely won't be letting it happen again."

Holly enjoys the way Gail's eyes narrow at her jesting. She leans down and starts to pull off her own jeans, a task easier said than done with all that accumulated water making them stick to her legs. As she peels them down over her knees, she chances a look up at Gail and is pleased to see that she is watching her every move closely, mouth slightly agape.

When Gail notices that she has been caught staring, she snaps her mouth shut and looks away, although her thoughts are still completely focussed on those long, lean limbs. She eventually shakes them off, and turns to scowl at Holly, who is still working the jeans off her legs.

"Don't feel too bad, it was a lapse of judgement from me too." She says, and Holly glances up at her, but she knows from Gail's tone of voice that she has nothing serious to worry about.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean, I suppose the shock of being so cold and wet just threw me. So I guess we're both classless sinners together."

Holly stands up, now rid of her jeans, which she kicks off to the side. She can feel a slight chill but it is worth it to feel Gail eyes not so subtly appraising her from head to toe.

Gail can feel her heart stop beating momentarily as she takes in the sight before her, but before she has time to run her eyes completely over Holly's body, the brunette is moving past her, ducking to run her lips past her ear as she goes.

"If I did show you my moves Gail, you'd be screaming the Lord's name so loud you wouldn't even remember it was a sin. And at least with me you'd be hot and wet. So hot and wet."

Gail's eyes shoot wide open and she feels all the muscles in her body simultaneously weaken. She tries to reach out to get a hold on the brunette, but she has already exited the room. How she didn't just collapse to the floor right then is a mystery to her.

Holly shuts the bathroom door behind her. She leans against it, a rare blush creeping up her neck and over her face. Sure she has moves, but that was fairly out of character for the slightly socially awkward doctor. She has definitely never talked like that to someone she wasn't in a stable relationship with before. But she couldn't resist Gail's teasing; it gave her some sort of raw, primal need to prove her wrong, even though she knew that's exactly what the officer had been gunning for. The idea had flashed across her mind, a way to give into Gail like she wanted to without completely losing the upper hand, and she acted on it without allowing herself to consider it too deeply, spurred on by the way Gail was running her eyes over her body. And Holly's fairly sure it worked. Or it may have caused some sort of major freak out and Gail was about the come bounding out that door, down the stairs and out of Holly's house for good.

God, she really hopes it worked.

~x~

It takes a solid five minutes of Gail standing aimlessly open mouthed in the middle of Holly's bathroom before she snaps out her stupor.

That was unexpected… but not entirely unwelcome.

She suddenly becomes very aware of how cold she is, and kicks off her clothes, grabbing a fresh towel to wrap around her naked body. A towel slightly too small for the job she is giving it. She looks in the mirror and notices quite how small it is. It would be hard for her to have much more leg on show without exposing herself for anyone to see.

It is at that moment that Holly bursts into the room.

"I got you some clothes to ch… oh, I'm sorry." She falters as she notices the pale skin of the woman before her. So much skin.

She averts her eyes, causing Gail to smirk slightly.

"I, uh, I'll leave these here." She says, placing the clothes down as she pointedly looks anywhere but at the blonde. "I think everything should fit. I'll… leave you to get changed."

Gail sniggers as the other woman hurries out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Once Gail is changed into a pair of flannel pyjama pants and plain t-shirt, she follows Holly out of the door and down the stairs to where she can see a light on. Holly is sat at the kitchen counter drinking a glass of water in a button down flannel shirt and an exceptionally small pair of cotton shorts. Engrossed in a book, she doesn't notice that someone else has entered the room.

"For a moment there you almost had me persuaded you were some sort of cool, confident lesbian seductress." Gail says from behind her.

Holly jumps slightly, and Gail giggles slightly.

"I was just a bit surprised, you threw my game." Holly tries to argue her awkward behaviour in the bathroom moments earlier.

"What game?"

"We're not starting that again."

Gail sighs melodramatically and drops into a seat at the counter. "Fine."

"Did you giggle just now?" Holly asks, closing her book and turning to give the younger woman her full attention.

"What? No." Gail can feel herself turning pink though.

"You did, you definitely giggled. I broke the ice queen." Holly gives Gail a gentle shove in the shoulder, smiling widely.

Gail narrows her eyes at her companion. "That shirt is really gay, Holly." She says, picking the first thing she can think of to change the topic.

"Strangely that doesn't really bother me."

"I never said it doesn't suit you."

"Well those trousers are looking pretty good on you, maybe I could start to kit your wardrobe out with some sort of flannel starter pack?"

Gail's face falls slightly and she looks at the ground. Holly kicks herself mentally for her lack of tact. Never pressure anyone into talking about their sexuality if they're not comfortable with it, almost anyone who's ever come out knows that.

"Sorry that was a stupid thing to say, you don't have to have some sort of big discussion about that." Holly says, reaching out to lift Gail's chin with her fingers.

"Does it matter? I like you, and I'm loyal. Except with Nick but they were… exceptional circumstances. So surely that's all that matters. I don't know about the rest, but I know that. I like you, and I'm loyal."

"Of course it is honey." Holly gives one of her most sincere smiles and a slight weight lifts from Gail's face.

Holly moves to remove her hand from Gail's chin but the blonde reaches up and holds it in place. "I like you a lot. I really like you."

"I really like you too." Holly smiles, as she closes the gap between them, leaning forward to capture Gail's lips with her own.

Gail pushes back against the kiss, dropping one of her hands to rest on Holly's bare thigh. Sparks shoot up the brunette's body from the touch, a hot flush of desire running through her, and she wraps one hand around to the back of Gail's head, playing with the short hairs at the top of her neck, and stroking her jawline with the other.

As Gail deepens the kiss, their tongues simultaneously stroking each other and fighting for dominance, Holly pushes slightly too strongly against the other woman, and Gail, a small but sizable amount of alcohol still running through her veins, starts to overbalance on the stool. Holly pulls her off and onto the ground before she can tumble off backwards.

Gail has that intense look in her eyes again, and Holly is starting to love the way it feels like Gail never wants to look at anything else. The blonde stands between her legs, pulling them back together; lips once again moving against each other. Despite Gail's proclamation, Holly can still taste the bourbon on her lips, not that she really cares when she can feel the other woman's hands running up the sides of her bare legs, fingers scraping the skin just under the fabric of her shorts. She finds her legs wrapping themselves around Gail's waist, pulling them tighter together, causing a light moan to escape from both their lips.

Gail's lips move to the other woman's neck, trailing kisses from her jaw to her collar and back up again.

Holly attempts to speak through the pleasure. "We should… we should stop." She marvels at her own self restraint. But she knows she would regret rushing things with Gail. Even if Gail's actions are making her start to forget that.

"Why?" Gail's lips and tongue are still working their way up Holly's throat as she speaks.

"You've been drinking…"

"I'm not drunk, not since you pelted me with ice water."

"...and, I'm not sure, emotionally you're in the right place for this right now."

Gail ignores her and moves her attention to Holly's collarbone. The contact causes the older woman to moan, loudly.

"Don't get me wrong, I really want this, but... we have work in a few hours. We should sleep."

Gail finally stops her task and leans back, groaning lightly.

"Fine. But I'm sleeping in your bed."

Holly smiles. "That's fine by me." She slips off her stool, taking Gail's hand in her own and leading her up the stairs.

~x~

Gail has seen the inside of Holly's bedroom only a couple of times before, and only briefly. She has a magnificently large bed; much larger than Gail's. Unlike Gail, Holly makes her bed every day, and her covers match the colour scheme of her room; a pale green and white colour scheme with dark wood furniture, whereas Gail's bedding was randomly bought at different times in different stores, and her walls are still the colour they were when Chris occupied her room.

Holly lets go of Gail's hand as they enter the room, and whilst the blonde is rooted to the spot just inside the closed door, Holly walks over to the side of the bed and starts to pull down the covers, before looking up, confused, at the other woman in the room.

"Is everything okay? Sorry I didn't ask, did you want to sleep on this side of the bed, or do you want something else to wear, I know some people don't like to wear pants to bed? Or if you've changed your mind, that's fine, I can go make up the guest bed or…" Her rambling is cut off by Gail marching over and gently pressing their lips together.

"You need to work on that rambling."

"Why, when I have you here to help me?"

Gail feels her lips curling up into a smile, but before it is fully formed she lets out a large, involuntary yawn, right in Holly's face.

"You have a very attractive set of tonsils." Holly smirks.

"Shut up." Gail murmurs, burying her face into Holly's collar.

"Probably a good thing we stopped, it would have really hurt my pride if you passed out on me. Come on." Holly pulls up the covers so Gail can climb under them, burying herself into the soft mattress.

Holly starts to move away from the bed when a hand grabs her wrist. "Where are you going?" A soft, drowsy voice asks.

"I'm just turning off the light."

When Holly climbs into the other side of the bed, she finds a pale arm pulling her over to Gail's side of the bed. She settles behind the blonde woman, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back into Holly's front.

"I like the way your boobs feel against my back." Gail murmurs, sounding like she is only seconds away from drifting off to sleep.

"I like the way your back feels against my boobs." Holly replies quietly.

One of Gail's arms wraps itself around the one Holly has around her waist.

"Thank you for fixing my hair." Gail murmurs.

"Anytime." Holly whispers back, kissing her lightly on the back of the neck, and she can hear her breathing even out as she drifts quickly off into a slumber, before she, too closes her eyes and falls victim to the late hour.

~x~

It is Gail who is first to wake. In the night, Holly has rolled onto her back and Gail has turned over, onto her other side to bury her face in the other woman's shoulder. It takes Gail a few moments for the initial shock of waking up in bed with some else to pass, and a feeling of content to wash over her, happy memories of Holly holding her her flooding back into her mind.

Lifting her head to glance at the time causes Holly to stir and groan slightly at the lost warmth from the blonde's body. They still have an hour until Gail needs to be at work, and she tries to settle back into Holly's side to fall asleep again, but the other woman opens her eyes and looks down at the blonde.

"Hi." She whispers.

"Morning."

"When do you need to be at work?"

"In an hour." Gail lifts her head up to kiss Holly lightly on the lips.

"I'm so comfy." Holly says, as they part.

"Mmm, let's just stay here all day."

"That would be nice."

"Can we?"

"Sadly not."

"I hate you." Gail nuzzles Holly's collar.

Holly smiles. "No you don't."

Gail looks back up at the older woman, and Holly leans back down and recaptures her lips.

Gail slowly runs her hands up Holly's side. Although she lacks some of the boldness that the tiredness and alcohol had provided her a few hours earlier, there is still a great sense of need and desire to the way her tongue caresses the inside of the other woman's mouth. Her hands however, roam only slowly and tentatively up the other woman's body.

Holly loses one hand in Gail's hair and the other creeps down to take a hold of Gail's firm posterior, holding her soundly in place. The realisation when she woke up that she was lying in bed with the object of her affections, causing her to be slightly more intrepid in her explorations of Gail's body than she had been the previous night, when her exhaustion, both physical and emotional –sure the day had been more overwhelming for Gail, but having your supposedly straight best friend, who you've been falling far despite all your attempts to see her only as a friend; kiss you passionately, then reject you, then have a break down in your bathroom before getting very hot and heavy with you, doesn't exactly make for an easy day for your emotions- meant she didn't quite trust herself not to take it too far with the blonde.

Although the heat rising through her body as it responded to Gail's wary touches is slowly taking her back to that place. But something, maybe knowing that Gail was also in a somewhat less emotionally vulnerable state than before they went to sleep, means that doesn't bother her so much.

Gail can feel Holly's hand move up onto her lower back, pushing up her t-shirt slightly as she does so. She enjoys it; the gentle but firm touch of Holly's fingers on her bare skin. She's already noticed that Holly likes to cup her cheek when they kiss, something her other hand is slowly working its way around to do, and she likes that; there is an affection to it she can't quite pinpoint, but is starting to love nonetheless. But this feeling of cool digits on skin yet to be explored by the brunette simultaneously fills her with warmth and sends shivers of anticipation across her body.

Their slow but passionate kiss ends as Gail's hand falters as it reaches Holly's breast, much like it did in the bathroom the previous night. Holly opens her eyes, searching out Gail's, attempting to reassure them. When Gail stays frozen with her hand just ghosting the underside of her breast, Holly gently and smoothly rolls them over so that Gail is underneath her.

She lowers herself so her lips are millimetres from Gail's own "You can touch me there, Gail. I want you to feel comfortable touching me." She whispers before lowering herself to kiss her deeply.

As Holly plants one arm to the side of Gail's head to lean on, she uses the other to stroke at Gail's hairline, whilst Gail's hands return to her hips, and once again begin to work up her stomach over her shirt.

This time they make it to her breasts, cupping them lightly, causing Holly to moan into their kiss. When Gail feels her nipples harden against her thumbs through the shirt, she too can't help but let out a moan as she feels a slight throb between her legs.

"I'm sorry. I want to touch you. I like touching you. It's just new and I'm worried I'm going to do it wrong, because you're so beautiful and amazing and I don't want to be bad." Gail gushes as they break apart.

"Gail, don't worry; there isn't really a bad way to touch a boob." Holly says, laughing slightly.

"I was once with a guy who bit mine. Not like, gently or nibbling or anything, he bit down on it, really hard. He drew a little blood."

Holly flinches at the thought, and both women grimace.

"Okay, yeah; that would be bad. But I figure that as you're also a woman, with boobs, you would probably know that would not be a good idea."

"But what about other stuff… more complicated stuff."

"We don't need to do any more complicated stuff until you're ready. And when… if, we do, it's not just experience that makes someone good at those things. Every woman likes different things and you don't know what they like until you're doing it, so who knows, I may be terrible for you the first time…"

"You're really selling this whole 'sex with women' thing." Gail's mouth twitches into a smile, and Holly rolls her eyes.

"Well if you'll let me finish." She ducks down and kisses Gail briefly on the lips. "But you learn what they like and then it gets really, really amazing. And when you're with someone you care about, who cares about you, it's always special. So with you… it's going to be incredible. And everything you've done so far has been really, really good, so you really have nothing to worry about, believe me."

"I've barely done anything."

Holly sighs gently. "Gail, when you were touching me in the shower earlier, that was… I really struggled to not jump you right then and there. It was good."

"I didn't even touch your boob without you helping me."

"And that's how I know you're going to be great. It was really, unbelievably hot."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Holly smiles and drops her head, meeting Gail's lips once more. One of Gail's hands rises to tangle itself in Holly's hair, whilst the other kneads her breast unashamedly for a few moments, before sliding down to find purchase on her buttock, pulling them tightly together.

Holly slips her hand up over Gail's own t-shirt, no longer able to refrain from feeling the blonde herself, her thumbs ghosting over an erect nipple. She feels the blonde shudder underneath her, and tightens her hold on the flesh, rubbing against the sensitive teat through the thin fabric.

But then a ringing stops them from progressing any further, as a loud ringing starts in another room.

"Is that yours?" Holly says, pulling back.

"Urgh, yes. It's in the bathroom." Gail says. "Ignore it, I'll speak to whoever it is at work." She pulls Holly back down and their lips interlock, but it is not long before it starts ringing again. Holly rolls off the other woman and collapses on her back.

"Fuck sake." Gail says as she pushes herself off the bed and stalks out of the room.

Holly glances over at the clock and sighs. Maybe the phone ringing was a good thing. They needed to stop at some point soon if either of them are going to make it to work on time. She pulls herself up and over to her wardrobe as Gail returns, scowling.

"It was Steve, he wanted to know if I need a lift to work, but I told him you could drop me off. Is that okay?" She asks, throwing herself back onto the bed.

"Yeah, no problem." Holly turns to her and smiles, and Gail feels her heart beat a little bit faster every time she sees that beautiful lopsided smile.

"Maybe you _should_ have slept with me last night when I wasn't being all ridiculous and nervous and slow. Got it over and done with."

Holly turns around and sits next to Gail on the bed. The blonde pushes herself upright to join her.

"Gail, I don't want sex with you to be a case of 'getting it over and done with'. I'd rather wait than know that you were only comfortable doing it because you were drunk."

"And in the middle of an emotional breakdown, don't forget that."

Holly places a kiss on her cheek. "You're worth waiting for." She stands up and walks towards the bedroom door, grabbing her clothes on the way.

"Well that's just piling on the pressure, Stewart. I'm going to be a nervous wreck before we even get to third base." Gail shouts after her.

"You'll be fine, Peck. Don't overthink it." Holly's voice shouts in return.

When Holly returns, fully dressed, the police officer is lying, eyes closed on the bed where she left her. She chucks a pair of jeans at her, and they land on her face, causing Gail to release a muffled cry.

She pulls them off to see Holly brushing her hair in the mirror.

"Get up Officer, we need to leave in fifteen minutes if you're not going to be late for work."

"That was unnecessary." Gail grumbles as she sits up. "Can I borrow a shirt, I don't really want to be doing a walk of shame into the station."

"I wouldn't worry about that Gail, I think your hair will probably distract all attention away from what you're wearing."

"Crap." Gail lifts her hands to run through her hair. For a brief moment there she had forgotten quite how drastically out of hand last night had gotten. "Urgh, I'm never going to be able to avoid questions about this."

"If it makes you feel any better, you probably chose a reasonably good night to make such a major change to your appearance. At least you know they all have bigger things preoccupying them."

"Like my emerging lesbianism?"

"Like their colleagues in the hospital." Holly takes a black t-shirt from her wardrobe and throws it on top of the jeans that Gail has pushed onto the bed beside her. "Get dressed, I'll make you coffee."

~x~

Holly pulls her car up into the parking lot at Fifteen, ten minutes before Gail is due at parade.

"Why couldn't we just call in sick? We could've been getting to the good stuff by now." Gail groans, making no moves to exit the vehicle.

"I don't think the day that three of your fellow officers are off work in the hospital is a good day to be playing hooky. Hurry up or you'll be late."

"How are you always so sensible about things? We're going to clash over that, you know."

"I look forward to it, now go." Holly gives Gail a light push and the blonde turns to glare lightly at her.

"You should be begging me to stay in bed with you, you're the worst hook-up ever." She says, as she opens the door, before leaning over to give her a chaste, but slightly lingering, kiss.

Holly blinks in surprise. Whilst they hadn't been completely discrete with their handholding in the hospital, she has no expectation that Gail would kiss her openly in her workplace car park, at least without looking around first to check there was no one else around. Which, granted, there wasn't, but still.

"Call me later!?" Holly calls after her as she climbs out of the car.

"Don't be clingy Holly, it's deeply unattractive." Gail retorts but she can't quite help but flash a smile at the other woman as she does so, closing the door behind her and heading into the precinct.

* * *

_Thanks for reading this far!_

_ It wasn't until I got to the end of the chapter that I realised quite how little ground I had covered, but I'll get to some actual plot at some point, I promise._

_Life starts up again this week but I should be okay to get the next chapter out moderately soon. Especially as writing snarky characters like Gail, when they're not being super angsty is something I really enjoy._

_Love to you all._


	4. Chapter 4

Inside the precinct there are only a few officers roaming around; Gail has never seen it this empty. She can't help but feel a slight twinge of happiness that she has almost made it to the locker room without running into anyone who knows her well enough to comment on her hair, though.

Almost.

"Woah." Is the only thing her brother can get out of his mouth as he spots her, open mouthed. He is stood opposite the women's locker room entrance, much like he had been when he was waiting for her in the early hours of this morning, playing with his phone.

"What are you still doing here?" Gail grumbles.

"We've been working the Ford case all night, just about to go home. When did you manage to fit a haircut into the last 6 hours?"

Gail shrugs. "About 4am."

"What…?"

"I don't want to talk about it." The idea of discussing the earlier drastic exposing of her vulnerability to Holly with her brother makes Gail feel a little ill.

Steve picks up on her reluctance and changes the topic. "Were you with Holly all night?"

"Yep."

"So whilst we were working hard you were busy getting down and dirty with our best forensic pathologist?"

"Don't be crass, Steve."

"So you were?"

"What, no! I'm not talking about Holly with you!"

The door to the locker room opens before her brother can reply, and Traci walks out, only to stop dead when she realises who the blonde in front of her is.

"Wow, Gail… nice hair." The detective says, offering a tired but genuine smile.

"Thanks." Gail mumbles.

"Where… did you get it done?"

"Holly."

"Oh right. Well, tell her I said it looks good."

"Sure."

Traci turns to Steve. "You ready?" She asks.

Steve nods, but before they can start to move down the corridor, Gail grabs his arm. "Wait, can I just…" She gestures around aimlessly, but Traci catches her intention.

"I'll see you by the car. Have a good shift, Gail." She smiles and walks away from them.

"Did you, you know, _tell_ anyone?" Gail asks, looking down at her feet.

"I literally only just saw you, how could I have told someone?"

Gail looks up at him in slight disbelief of his dopiness. "Not the hair, about Holly."

"Oh, of course I haven't. That's your news to tell. But you should know that you weren't hugely subtle yesterday in the hospital; people may have guessed. Especially because it's you, you know; everyone knows when Gail Peck holds someone's hand, they must be pretty special." He answers softly.

"Right. Thanks. I mean, I don't care if people know; I just also don't want people to make a big deal about it."

"Okay, well I'll tell Traci to cancel the 'coming out' party she's planning then." He flashes her a mischievous grin she is all too used to seeing.

Gail gives her brother a shove to the shoulder and scowls at him in response. "You said you didn't tell anyone."

"I didn't, she guessed."

She eyes him suspiciously for a moment. "Okay. But yes, definitely _no parties_."

"If I hear about any, I promise I'll find a way to stop them. But, um, I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about."

Gail cocks her head slightly in surprise. "Oh yeah?"

"I got a call from Mom about half an hour ago…"

"If this is about me not going on those ridiculous blind dates anymore, she can…" Gail interrupts him, her voice raising slightly in annoyance at her mother's persistence.

But before she can finish her own sentence, Gail herself is interrupted by her brother, now speaking in a slightly hushed voice. "It's not about that. She was telling me that Inspector Jarvis stripped Best of Staff Sergeant last night, it's all pending an investigation up at headquarters but she seemed pretty sure it was going to stick."

"What, why?"

"Something to do with the handling of this whole Ford thing, I don't know. But they're probably not going to tell you everything, and she wanted us to know, probably to remind us that she's up there, getting all the information we're not privy to or something."

"Why hasn't she tried to call me yet?"

"I told her _I_ would tell you so that she didn't have to herself. Because I thought maybe you wouldn't want her calling you today… or for the next few days."

She shudders at the thought of her mother asking her about her private life right about now. "Oh, right. Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks."

"Just don't go gossiping about it to everyone."

"I am many things Steve, but I'm not much of a gossip. Have they instated someone new?"

"Mum thinks they're gunning for Shaw, but obviously that's not going to happen until he's back at work, so you'll probably be stuck with Jarvis for a while."

Gail groans at the memories of the steely, uncompromising man who used to frequent her parents' soirees when she was a teenager. "Brilliant, so I'm losing my partner and we're stuck with Jarvis? I knew I should have stayed in bed."

"Yeah I know, maybe you should apply for the next detective rotation, join me up in Guns and Gangs…?"

Gail's expression returns to a steely glare.

Steve smirks slightly. "Sorry, Mom may or may not have made me promise to slip that in somewhere."

"Yeah, well you didn't have to actually do it."

"I'm a man of my word, Gail, I would never lie to our mother." He grins.

"Oh right, so she knows that you had sex with Annie Marchelis, in Mom's bed, at a house party you threw when you were 18, then?" Her eyebrows raise sceptically, her lips pursed at her brother's pure cheek.

"You should get going or you'll be late to parade." His grin falters slightly but his tone remains steady as he pushes her towards the locker room door and he sets of down the corridor towards the car park.

Gail turns back to look at him walking away. "I swear to God Steve, if I find out that you've mentioned anything about Holly to Mum I will make sure you don't have any secrets to keep from her anymore."

Steve doesn't look back as he shouts back. "You really don't want to start playing that game, Gail. Don't think I don't know about you and Nick in the back of Dad's car."

Gail's face scrunches at the memory as she rolls her eyes at the back of her brother's head, watching him walk out of the door, before darting into the locker room to get ready in the short minutes left before she's meant to be at parade.

~x~

"Where the hell is everyone?" Gail asks as she sits down next to Chris in the parade room, technically a minute late, but there is no-one at the front to register that. There is no-one in most of the seats. Chris is the only one of her friends in the room, along with only a handful of other officers.

"Dov's in the hospital with Chloe, Andy's with Sam. They were both witnesses at an armed robbery gone wrong at about 4 o'clock this morning, so they were given the day off. Chloe woke up at about 3, Sam a couple of hours later. Cruz is still in with SIU, I think. Loads of people who didn't witness the shooting were here helping with the investigation all night, only a few of us were given it off, but they've mostly gone home. I think Traci was one of them. They only finished cleaning up the crime scene about an hour ago." Chris narrows his eyes slightly as he takes in her hair, but says nothing about it.

"What about Nick?"

"I don't know, I only know anything because Dov's been texting me. I only just got here." Chris shrugs slightly.

"Yeah, me too. Is Oliver okay?"

"Dov said he should be getting discharged later today, back to work by the end of the week, hopefully."

"Hmm." Gail is still not quite finished processing the idea of Oliver coming back to work as a staff sergeant. Sure, he'd be good, but he's her partner. She likes him, she doesn't want him to leave her out on the street to potentially be stuck with a partner like Price whilst he works behind a desk all day. Something she knows for a fact he wouldn't want to do anyway.

"You didn't come home last night." Chris tears her from her thoughts

"I stayed at Holly's." She looks forward at the empty spot where a staff sergeant should be stood, not meeting Chris' inquisitive gaze.

"Oh right. Well that's good, right?"

"Yeaaaah…" She drags the word out but is stopped from saying anything more by a buzzing in her pocket. She pulls out her phone and a small smile creeps onto her face when she sees who is contacting her.

_Holly: Do you know what happened to that file I brought over to the station yesterday? May or may not have gotten distracted and left it in an interrogation room_

Gail's smile morphs into a grin at the memory of Holly, all flustered and adorable, at the precinct yesterday, and she hastily taps out a reply.

_Gail: Honestly, no idea. Not like you to get distracted at work_

There are only moments before her phone buzzes with the reply.

_Holly: Unforeseen circumstances threw me a little_

_Gail: Unforeseen? Don't pretend you didn't come to the station planning to get a little action_

_Holly: I was just coming to check on someone, completely innocent_

_Gail: Oh yeah, who?_

_Holly: This hot blonde cop chick. She looks a lot like you, but her hair's not as sexy_

_Holly: But seriously, I may need to come pick up that file at some point_

_Gail: I'll have a look for it after parade_

_Gail: If that means you're promising to come to the station at some point_

_Holly: I don't know, the courier usually does that stuff_

_Gail: I'm sure you can make an exception_

_Holly: I'll see what I can do. Depends what's in it for me_

_Gail: You'll have to come and find out_

She slips the phone in her pocket still smiling widely, and feels Chris eyes looking suspiciously at her to her left.

She turns to look at him, her smile fading to be replaced with her usual glacial expression.

"That Holly?"

"Yeah, not that it's any of your business."

"No, I know. You just seem happy. It's nice." He says, earnestly.

"Why is that whenever I'm happy people always want to make a big deal about it? Does anyone ever think that maybe I'm usually happy, and it's you guys who turn me into this cynical cranky bitch at work?"

"Maybe, but we live together and we used to date. I know you hate it, but we actually know each other quite well."

"Whatever, Chris." Gail dismisses him. It annoys her more than most other things, when other people seem to think they know her so intimately. Maybe they know what she's like, and what she does, and what she likes to do, but that doesn't mean they actually know who she _is_. Years of people dismissing her as the self-involved, unfeeling, nasty, suck-up daughter of police royalty made her miserable for so long. She's past that now, she's learnt to build up her walls and not let it bother her like it used to, and her friends have slowly come around to a slow acceptance that she is not the person they initially thought she was, but it still irks her when people think they have her all sussed out. And even after four years of working together, her closest workmates still haven't quite managed to fully shake their initial opinions of her. Except maybe Oliver, but she's not sure he ever really viewed her like the others did anyway.

Holly doesn't do that. She's never viewed Gail with the filter everyone else seems to see her through, not once in the time they've known each other. There is still so much of herself Gail has to show Holly, but her walls are steadily eroding and already it feels like Holly understands her and accepts her more than she remembers anyone else doing in a long time.

That was really pathetic, Gail thinks to herself, shaking the thoughts out of her head. That was dangerously close to being an extremely sentimental and introspective train of thought. As if she hasn't had enough of those in the past 24 hours.

They only sit there in a slightly awkward silence for a minute or so longer, before Inspector Jarvis enters the room and makes his way to the front. Out of the corner of her eyes she can see a confused look sweep over Chris' face, as Jarvis starts to explain about Best's 'unexpected leave of absence' and his own temporary stint as acting Staff Sergeant.

~x~

She is, as she expected when she saw who was in the parade room, partnered with Chris for the day. There are only a couple of other cars out on patrol with them, and they are all helping operate a speed check. Probably Jarvis attempting to prevent them getting involved in any major busts whilst they are so low on officers.

It works for Gail though. She can just lean against the squad and text Holly about how bored she is while Chris does all the actual work. Or at least, that's what she manages to do for the first three hours, until Holly gets called out to a crime scene to work on a just discovered body. Just half an hour before lunch too, when Gail had planned on surprising Holly at the morgue with takeout.

So now she's just angry at the world, and spending the whole day issuing speeding tickets is not helping. She doesn't have much interest in talking with Chris either, still holding onto some anger at his suggestion that and then that he knows her so extremely well and that she is some sort of perpetually unhappy antagonist, That's probably Holly's fault. Showing Gail that it is actually possible to treat her like a fully developed human being with feelings has kind of raised her expectations of all human interactions. He's tried engaging her in conversation numerous times, but the fact that he has no idea why she's annoyed with him is not working in his favour.

If Holly was actually here she may point out that giving Chris the cold shoulder for one gaffe he is unaware of probably doesn't help people change their opinion of her. And she can't help being petulant, that's in her blood as a Peck. She may be self-destructive, but maybe if people stopped pretending they knew why, she wouldn't be so nasty. Maybe. Maybe she is just a horrible person and Holly has some sort of brain injury which is stopping her from seeing that.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital in our lunch break?" He suggests in his sixth or seventh attempt to get a civil response from his partner.

Gail shrugs, but internally she concedes that does actually seem like a good idea. If she can't see Holly in her break, seeing Oliver is easily the next best thing. And she can palm off Diaz to Dov and Chloe.

"Sure, but we need to grab lunch on the way, I'm not eating hospital food."

Chris smiles slightly to himself at the semi-successful interaction. Gail hadn't insulted him this time, at least.

~x~

She loses Chris within about two minutes of entering the hospital, he headed towards the ICU and Chloe, and she in the opposite direction to Oliver's room. She narrowly avoids an encounter with a very tired looking McNally in the corridor on her way. She hasn't had much time to consider the Nick/Andy/Sam situation in the past 24 hours, but she knows that part of her is slightly selfishly smug that Nick appears to have been dumped, and another part mad at McNally for feeling it necessary to spend a couple of weeks sleeping with Nick, knowing full well it would hurt Gail, even though it was now apparent her feelings for him were nothing compared to those for Sam.

It amazes her, when people do things like that to her, how anyone ever expects her to trust other people.

Oliver is alone in his room, but speaking to someone on the phone. Relief sweeps over Gail as he looks up at her and smiles. She hadn't contemplated it until about thirty seconds ago, but a slight worry that he would be asleep and she would have to find someone else to keep her entertained was starting to creep into her mind.

"Alright, Celery, you just get back to sleep. Peck is here now, so I'll be fine for a while. I promise. I'll see you in a couple of hours. Okay. Yes. Okay, I love you, too. Bye."

Gail is stood, eyebrows raised in the doorway. "The L word, huh?"

"I hear that's what I should be asking you? Different L word, mind."

Gail feels herself turning slightly pink. "Who are your sources?"

"Chloe, but I believe hers were Dov and Chris."

"So much for a _private_ life." She sighs, pulling up a chair beside his bed and pulling her lunch out of a carrier bag.

"She didn't have a whole lot to say. Just that you were apparently looking quite cosy with a certain forensic pathologist in the waiting room last night. Who I presumed was the same forensic pathologist who followed you out of an interrogation room at the precinct yesterday."

Gail sinks slightly into her chair. A part of her had been hoping she'd gotten away with that. Which was a bit naïve, admittedly, Oliver is a police officer after all. "Holly, yeah. Please say you didn't mention that bit to Chloe?"

"Nope, no, that's between us."

"Good. Thanks." She smiles up at him weakly.

"You want to talk about it?" He looks at her, his expression so open and honest and kind that she struggles to fight it.

"I don't know, I mean there's not a lot to say. We kissed. Well, I kissed her. Then I freaked out and cut off all my hair." She waves her hand vaguely towards her head as she speaks, indicating the newly acquired pixie cut, in case it somehow had escaped his notice.

"I was going to ask. Well you did a pretty neat job of it."

"Holly fixed it for me."

"Sounds like a keeper. Why did you freak out? Because she's a woman?"

A look of great concentration and thought falls upon Gail's face, her eyes narrowing slightly and her lips pursing. "No, I don't think so. That was only a tiny part of it. I think it was more just because I like her, a lot. I don't care about her gender, I never really have. She makes me feel really good, and I guess I'm not used to that. It's kind of scary, how good I feel when we're together."

"But she hung around, after you cut off the hair?"

"Yeah, and that's what makes it so scary. I had a meltdown in front of her, and kind of insulted her, and she stuck around and looked after me. No-one's ever done that before."

Oliver smiles warmly at her. "She sounds like she's good for you. I've liked her when I've worked with her, she seems nice."

Gail smiles into her pack of cheese puffs, eyes slightly glazed over. "She's pretty great." When she registers that she's possibly been indulging Oliver with more details of her budding relationship than she is entirely comfortable with, her eyes snap back up to look at the gently smiling man on the bed before her.

Yeah, she definitely said too much. "Not a word of me going all soppy is to reach anyone's ears, you hear me Shaw?"

"Only if you give me one of whatever's in that bag."

Gail narrows her eyes at the other officer suspiciously, before reaching in and pulling out a box of donuts, watching as an excited glint appears in his eyes.

~x~

When they get back on the streets, the afternoon proves to be no more interesting than the morning, and by the time their shift is ending, Gail's foul mood is back in full force.

She is getting changed in the near empty locker room when her phone alerts her to a new message.

_Holly: Sorry, haven't been able to leave the lab since this body got in. Finished now though, still okay if I come pick up that file?_

Gail looks into her locker and pulls out the papers she had earlier discovered still scattered in the interrogation room, placing them on the bench behind her.

_Gail: Sure, meet you outside_

_Holly: Great, should be there in fifteen, thank you!_

And sure enough, fifteen minutes Holly's car pulls into the car park, where Gail is stood waiting for her, file in hand.

"Thank you, so much." Holly says as she approaches the blonde. "My boss would have murdered me if he found out I was dumping case notes around the stations so I could talk to girls I liked."

"Why didn't you just bring a fake file, dumbass?" Gail asks, her face still carrying the weight of her frustration at the day.

"Because, officer, I wanted a solid backbone to my reasoning for being there. In case you started snooping." Holly stands before Gail, only a fraction in front of her, but when she reaches that position she realises she has no idea what to do with her body next. She wants to embrace her, but the blonde hasn't stopped scowling and Holly isn't quite sure what to do.

"You didn't really allow much time for snooping before you went full on ramble-mania."

"Yeah, well, I got kind of flustered. How was your shift?"

Gail shrugs and slouches slightly. "Crap, boring. Plus side, apparently everyone knows about us already so at least I don't have to actually tell them." Her scowl lessens a bit.

"And you don't mind that they know?"

Gail shrugs again. This time the scowl completely falls from her face, and whilst it is not replaced with any indication of a smile, Holly can't help but feel relieved. "No, I thought I would, maybe, but I don't."

"But it was a crap day anyway?"

"Yeah, it was boring, we were doing pointless work, Best's being replaced, maybe by Oliver, Chris was the only other person without the day off and he was just such poor company compared to you. And I'm hungry."

Holly laughs softly. "Well I can probably do something about that last one. You want to go to that diner down the street?"

Finally some warmth finds its way into Gail's expression. "That would be… amazing. No salads, though."

"I know, come on."

Holly turns to head back to her car, but is stopped by Gail's hand on her wrist.

"Were you really going to go off there without kissing me?" Gail asks, eyebrows slightly raised.

"I didn't know if you wanted…?" Holly is cut off as Gail pulls on her wrist again, pulling them together in a tender meeting of lips.

"I want, Holly." Gail's lips curl as she pulls back, noticing the slightly dumbfounded but happy smile that has emerged on Holly's face.

She lets go of the other woman's wrist and skips –or as close as Gail has ever come to skipping- around to the passenger side of Holly's car. Holly turns slowly to look at her.

"Cat got your tongue, Dr Stewart?" Gail grins as she ducks into the vehicle. Holly blinks a couple of times and follows.

~x~

Eating dinner with Holly is the easiest thing in the world. It's barely different from when they were friends, only now there is something new and exciting in the way they look at each other. But the way they make each other laugh and forget their problems as they talk about their days, that's the same. That was always there. And any of Gail's lingering fears about this new relationship slip effortlessly away as she is reminded just _how _easy being with Holly is.

Gail still makes fun of Holly's little quirks, like the way can never decide what she wants to eat, then gets flustered when the waitress comes over to take her order and blurts out something randomly from the menu she had almost no intention of actually ordering. And Holly returns the favour, mercilessly mocking Gail for her predictability when it comes to ordering food; Holly doesn't think she's ever seen Gail pick anything other than the unhealthiest item on a menu.

But then Holly still smiles with her eyes and her lips at Gail in a way that fills her with warmth, like she actually cares about what she has to say. And Gail still gives a genuine smile back, grateful but also just captivated by this incredible woman in front of her.

And their laughs. If you asked either woman, both would say that the other has the most beautiful laugh they've ever seen. The way Holly's mouth curls up on one side into a slight smirk before the laugh breaks forth from her lips as she grins so widely Gail can almost see all her teeth. And the way Gail lets out an uncontrollable giggle, her eyes sparkling in a way that is mischievous but so happy, unable to control her glee for a good few moments every single time. To each, the other is mesmerising in those moments of pure exuberance, which happen with, what is at least to Gail, a remarkable regularity.

This is happiness in its simplest but most wonderful form. Their back and forth was always so natural, and it doesn't stop being natural when Holly reaches over to wipe some ice cream off Gail's face, and Gail grabs her hand between her own and strokes it absently but deliberately with her thumb whilst they continue their comfortable repartee. Neither does it stop when Holly leans over and plants a brief but gentle kiss on the blonde's lips to distract her so she can pull the bill from the officer's grasp, nor when they're walking out of the diner and Gail slips her hand into Holly's for the brief walk to the car.

Nothing has really changed; it is different, but it is the same. It is better.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading and your lovely reviews, they fill me with warmth and encouragement!_

_I have the next 1000 or so words written but that just felt like a natural end to the chapter, plus I really wanted to upload this tonight because I'm not sure when I'll have time for the next few days. _

_As usual, apologies for all mistakes. Now I'm back in Canada again I'm finding my use of the English language is becoming ever more erratic, so I apologise for my complete and utter lack of commitment to the use of a dialect from either side of the Atlantic._

_Buenos Dias_


	5. Chapter 5

_Getting into a regular pattern with these chapters now. Of course, the minute that starts to happen everything would get disrupted. It will probably be two weeks until the next chapter, as I am, coincidentally going to be in Toronto at a family birthday party next weekend. But I will try._

_If you want, however, I will probably (emphasis on probably, I may have to save them for later if I get caught up at work) be taking one-shot prompts here, or on my tumblr (bronaldinhothesecond), (but there is a chance I will only be posting them here) so I can keep writing without having to sit down for a marathon writing fest like I prefer to on these chapters. Also I need to refresh my smut writing abilities, so that's probably a good way to do that._

* * *

Holly has only been driving for about five minutes before she notices Gail falling asleep against the window to her right. They had left the diner after hours of talking and Gail ploughing through almost half of the menu in about four different courses. They then spent ten minutes in the car debating where to go next, Holly insisting on taking Gail home to sleep; she had only had about three hours the previous night, after all, and Gail determined to find a bar near Holly's house. Holly had won, and now, as she looks over at the sleeping blonde, she can't help but smirk a little.

The officer only stirs when the car comes to a halt outside her apartment building.

"Honey…" Holly whispers as she reaches across to stroke the other woman's cheek.

"Mmmm" Gail moans, not opening her eyes.

"You should go to bed."

"Don't wanna."

"I think you need to though."

Gail scrunches up her face before finally opening her eyes, her gaze flicking over Holly's gentle features.

"You come in?" Gail asks, too tired to construct an actual question.

"Of course, if you want me too."

Gail just nods slowly, her eyes falling shut again.

Holly smiles and lets herself out of the car, before moving around to open Gail's door herself from the outside, sensing that the blonde is probably not going to do it for herself.

But apparently she has fallen asleep again because when Holly opens the door Gail jerks from the shock of having her headrest pulled unceremoniously away from her. As she is returned to the land of the living she turns to glare at the taller woman.

"I didn't think you were asleep already." Holly says before the blonde can admonish her, taking her hand and helping her out of the car.

"You know, if you weren't so cute, I'd be kind of upset about you nearly falling asleep on me two nights in a row." Holly muses as Gail snakes an arm around her waist, leaning on her shoulder as the two walk into her apartment building.

"'M not cute." Gail murmurs.

Holly rolls her eyes and smiles knowingly. Protest it all she wants, Gail has the ability to be so ridiculously cute and adorable that she could have Holly wrapped around her little finger if she wanted. Not that Holly has any intention of letting Gail find this out.

It is only when they get into the elevator that Holly realises that she has no idea where Gail's apartment is, having never actually entered the building before, only ever dropping the blonde off or picking her up outside.

"Um, Gail." Holly gestures to the panel on the wall.

Gail is forced from her vacant dozing to lead Holly to her apartment. From the brief flash of the apartment that Holly sees before she is lead into Gail's bedroom, Holly can definitely see why Gail calls it the 'frat house'. There are half empty bottles of liquor lining the kitchen, presumably left over from the night in Gail had been texting her throughout, a couple of weeks ago. The sofa has a couple of blankets dumped unceremoniously over the back, video games are stacked in a couple of very wonky towers near the television and there is a small but noticeable pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

Gail's bedroom is… slightly more orderly. But before Holly has much chance to look around, Gail has let Holly out of the tight grip she had around her waist and collapsed onto the half-made bed. Holly smiles at the woman sprawled before her.

"Don't you think you should maybe take off your boots?" She asks softly.

Gail rolls over onto her back in response, letting out a tired groan, before sitting up and complying. When she moves to start taking off her jeans, Holly steps back.

"I should be, uh, heading home then." Holly mumbles, trying not to look at the expanse of pale skin suddenly on show.

"What, no, stay?" Gail looks up at her, a slightly pleading look in her tired eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"If you don't have to go home. I just… I liked waking up with you."

Holly raises an eyebrow in jest. "You just want to feel me up before work again?"

"Maybe. You should be flattered."

"I am. But I'm going to have to head home before work so I'm not sure we'll have much time." Holly smiles. "Do you have anything I can wear to bed?"

Gail locates some clothing in her drawers and passes them to the other woman, before pointing her towards the bathroom to get changed. When she returns, Gail is lying, eyes closed, under the covers

Holly climbs into the other side of the bed. "I knew you'd fall asleep on me."

"I'm not. Was waiting for you." Gail murmurs, her eyes remaining tightly shut as she reaches an arm over to pull Holly into her. She buries her face in the brunette's collar as her arm tightly wraps around her back. Whilst it is not entirely the most comfortable sleeping position ever, there is an intimacy to the embrace which makes that somewhat irrelevant, and so that is how they drift off to sleep, wrapped up in one another.'s arms

~x~

When Holly wakes up, she can sense eyes on her.

"I knew you couldn't be completely perfect." Gail says, leaning on her elbow as she stares at the other woman with that intense, focussed gaze of hers.

"Huh?" Holly asks, reaching up to rub her eye.

"You talk in your sleep."

Holly looks over at Gail, now able to focus on her properly. "Yeah, well you're a duvet stealer."

"I get cold." Gail shrugs.

"Put some socks on then."

"I do." Gail pulls the covers up to reveal her red cotton covered feet poking out the end of the bed.

"Weirdo." Holly retorts, leaning over to give the other woman a kiss. "What was I talking about?"

"Autopsies mainly. Nerd. You mumbled a lot, it was hard to tell."

"I'll try to enunciate more next time."

Gail responds by pulling her back in for another lethargic kiss.

"I should get going if I'm going to have time to get ready before work." Holly eventually says, pulling herself out of the deep, slow battle of tongues, receiving the expected Peck pout in response.

"I haven't even had a chance to touch your boob yet." Gail scowls.

Holly grins as she climbs out of the bed. "Well maybe I could pick you up after work tonight? If you promise not to get all sleepy on me again."

"I'll drink coffee all day in preparation."

"You always drink coffee all day, I'm surprised caffeine has any effect on you anymore." Holly says, gathering up her clothes.

"I have to have a triple shot some days." Gail replies, a slight hint of pride in her voice.

"I really don't want to know what state your internal organs must be in."

"Well maybe I'll land on your autopsy table one day and you'll be able to find out." A classically awkward, inappropriately 'Gail' response. She curses herself lightly for her poor judgement of that particular interaction.**  
**

Holly stops abruptly and her face falls into an expression Gail has only seen once before. A quiet mix of sadness and worry and anger. "Don't joke about that, Gail."

It is two days since a police hunting gunman had shot at her, and two days since Holly had come bursting into the station, uncharacteristically scatty, desperate to know that the blonde was and would be safe. Probably not enough time to be making jokes about being killed. If there was ever a good time to do that. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking." Gail offers.

"It's okay. Just… you know, I was really, really scared for you the other day."

"If it makes you feel any better, I was one of the few officers he wasn't actively targeting. So you can at least sit safe in the knowledge that you're dating one the cops at 15 division people actually least want to kill. Or who the general public least want to kill anyway; I'm sure if you took a poll inside the division, the results would probably be the opposite. But they're cops, they're mostly pretty law-abiding citizens, so I'm probably safe."

"We're dating, huh?" Holly asks, her lips curling up into a lopsided smile.

Gail frowns slightly. "That's what you took from that?"

Holly nods, smile still plastered on her face.

"Well… I mean, I couldn't say that we're 'sleeping together', because, well, you know. And I think it would not be a huge assumption to think that we've gone beyond being 'friends'. And last night was kind of a date…" Gail trails off, nervously.

"Oh yeah, well we've been on loads of dates; the wedding, the batting cages, that time we went for ice cream at 2am… I just didn't know if we were 'dating'"

"They weren't dates, they were friends, hanging out. We didn't do anything romantic."

"I kissed you at the wedding." Holly points out.

"Even so. They weren't dates."

"Well then, last night wasn't a proper date, we didn't get all dressed up or do anything planned."

"Fine, then maybe we're not dating, we're just two people who fall asleep cuddling each other." Gail shrugs.

"Don't pin that on me Gail, you're definitely the cuddler."

Gail's lips form an indignant pout. "That's a bold faced lie and you know it is."

Holly raises her eyebrows sceptically at the memory of the shorter woman wrapping herself tightly around her last night. She walks towards the door, turning to speak before she exits the room. "Don't worry Peck, I won't let any of your friends know that you're such a softie at heart."

She hears something, probably a pillow, hit the door as she shuts it behind her, and smirks slightly.

On her return from the bathroom, she finds Gail making coffee in the kitchen, wrapped in her black and white robe with her hair standing on end.

Holly can't help but sneak up behind her and snake her arms around her waist, planting a kiss on the side of her neck as she does so. She feels the other woman shiver slightly under her touch.

"I've decided I could probably cope with saying we're dating." Holly says into her pale skin. "I have already asked you out tonight, after all."

Gail wriggles and turns around in the embrace to face the pathologist. "Maybe I've changed my mind now."

"Change it back." Holly says, leaning in to capture soft lips with her own for a moment, before pulling back. "Ugh, morning breath." She grimaces, but her facial muscles are struggling to hold the expression as they try to break out into a grin.

"Shut up." Gail whispers, placing her hands on the sides of the other woman's face and pulling her back into a deep but soft kiss.

"Gail are you making coffee… Woah!" They are interrupted by a male voice Holly is not well acquainted with.

"What the fuck, Dov?" Gail exclaims as the couple jump apart in surprise.

"Sorry, I had no idea… Hi, Dov Epstein." He reaches his hand out for Holly to shake. "Dr Stewart, right? We've met at crime scenes a couple of times. Not much though, Gail always insists on going to the morgue now if someone has to."

"Dov!" Gail hisses.

He continues unfazed. "Chris thought that you two were sl… uh, that maybe you would be here this morning. Good to meet you properly. I've always found forensic pathology super interesting…"

Sensing that she should maybe cut him off before his verbal diarrhoea lands him on Gail's hit list, Holly shakes his hand. "You can call me Holly. Nice to meet you too." She turns to Gail. "I should probably get going."

Gail has an unimpressed look on her face, and is still glaring at her roommate. "I'll see you out." She says, finally releasing Dov from her glare and turning to give a slightly sympathetic grimace to the other woman.

Once outside the door, Holly can't help but raise an eyebrow. "I knew you ended up in my lab more often than most other officers, but I had no idea you were actually requesting it, couldn't keep away from me, huh?"

"Don't look so smug, it's not hard to be more bearable company than most of my colleagues. Case in point." She says, rolling her eyes and gesturing towards the door. "Maybe we should stay around yours from now on?"

"Bit forward don't you think?"

Gail shrugs. "I'm just helping you avoid those losers. It'll be at least five times worse when Chloe gets out of hospital too. Your place may not have a games console but at least it's private."

Holly smiles. "Fine, my place then. I'll cook dinner tonight. No tomatoes unless they're properly cooked and no eggs, I know."

"No slipping any of your weird health foods in either, none of that vegetarian crap."

"I'm not vegetarian, I just don't eat red meats."

"Whatever."

"I'll see you after work." Holly leans down for a brief kiss.

"Pick me up?" Gail asks.

"You know chauffeuring isn't part of the agreement here?"

Gail responds with another kiss. "See you later, nerd."

~x~

"What the hell was that?" Gail demands as she re-enters the apartment.

Dov looks up from the toast he is buttering. "Huh?"

"Holly and I aren't sleeping together, and you definitely did not need to say that we are in front of her."

"I didn't actually…"

"You pretty much did." Gail cuts him off, raising a hand to stop him talking.

"I did just walk in on you two…"

"Kissing? Yeah, but not all of us screw people in bathroom stalls a couple of hours after meeting them, Dov."

Dov's mouth falls agape. "Chris told you?"

"Chloe did, she was attempting to bond, or something."

"Well… I mean, this is different. You've known Dr Stewart for a few months, I figured if you've been waiting this long to get together, then you'd be ready to jump each other pretty quickly."

"Dov. Please stop talking about me and Holly. Please stop thinking about me and Holly."

Dov doesn't heed her request and continues to muse. "Although, as you do know each other so well, you've got to wonder quite why Holly is interested in a relationship with you."

It is Gail's mouth's turn to fall open this time. Dov has never been an entirely tactful person, but this is a new level.

"No, no, not because you're not good looking or fun or anything. I just mean, well, she seems really nice; a bit reserved some of the time, but always friendly and helpful. You're not very similar, is all I meant."

"Oh, thanks Dov; that was loads nicer." She turns back to her bedroom to get ready for work.

Typical Dov, always so talented at drawing out her insecurities. There had probably been about 18 hours there of feeling like she was truly in a good, happy stable place. And now?

What if Holly did really want to have sex, and Gail just… couldn't give her that. In the past 48 hours she has probably swung from thinking she was definitely ready to being absolutely petrified about six times. And Holly would never, ever pressure her. That's not Holly. But Dov made an annoyingly good point. For all she knows Holly may have wanted this for months. And that level of hope puts on Gail some slightly unwelcome expectations. Expectations that she's going to be good, and ready, and something Holly has waited for.

And Gail can't help but feel slightly concerned about the fact that she isn't in a constant state of desire for Holly. She has been, definitely, when they're together and they're doing stuff. Yesterday morning had left her more worked up than she had expected. But when she's alone and that slight fear at the prospect of diving head first (probably literally, Gail smirks at the crassness of the use of that expression) into the unknown rears its head, suddenly the idea of jumping into bed with her girl isn't so appealing. It took her first boyfriend weeks to be able to anything noteworthy with her vagina. The first time he actually saw it he kind of freaked with excitement and couldn't do anything.

What if she does that? What if she thinks she's ready then can't actually perform when it happens, and leaves Holly high and dry. She doesn't want to let her down like that. She want to show Holly how wonderful she is, give her everything she's ever wanted. Not get her hopes up and leave her disappointed.

But then, to be fair, she reasons, her first boyfriend didn't have a vagina of his own. For Gail at least it's not the _complete _unknown, and that's got to count for something. Hopefully. And Holly has already reassured over the complexities of lesbian sex.

Holly makes the best counter-Dov that Gail has ever met. Just thinking about her has calmed her surfacing uncertainties slightly. It takes quite an impressive amount of influence for Gail to be able to stop herself letting her insecurities escalate in her mind to a dangerous point. But Holly does that. They've been over the sex issue before, and sure, Dov may have a point; maybe Holly would be hoping for, or used to, some mind blowing lady sex. But Holly knows Gail is new to this. She wouldn't have gotten involved with her if she wasn't prepared to have to wait a while for some very awkward, inexperienced fumbling. It's normal to be nervous, about sex with anyone. Sure, it's been a while since Gail has been nervous about sex, she knows that she's pretty capable of giving guys what they want, and she's pretty proud of that. And she's also often drunk the first time she sleeps with them, which kind of kills the nerves. But that doesn't mean it's not normal to be nervous. She will be nervous, until it happens, but that doesn't mean anything. It's normal to be nervous. It doesn't have to mean she has to have some sort of large-scale freak out. It's just sex, and whenever it happens, it will happen.

_"Don't overthink it."_ That's what Holly had said. And that's what she was doing. She was overthinking it. So she just had to take a breath, and stop. Okay, easier said than done, but it helped to remember that. Because when she stops overthinking, when she just remembers how good it feels, how _normal _it feels, when Holly kisses her, or Gail feels a her bare skin under her fingers... that actually helps. That reduces the scariness of the entire situation at least four times over.

It's normal to be nervous. It will happen when it happens.

And we've been together for two days, this really isn't a problem we need to be worrying about yet. Gail adds in as an afterthought.

Gail smiles to herself in the mirror as she pulls on her jacket, so proud at having actually managed to talk herself out of an escalating crisis, and manage, for the first time in a long while to control her emotions in a way that isn't just bottling them up, that she forgets for now Dov's other tactless remark about her mean nature in contrast with Holly's more open friendliness. She'll have to thank Holly later. That definitely deserves thanks.

~x~

Holly has been at work for four hours and heard only a couple of times from Gail. Apparently everyone is back at work today, at least everyone who isn't still in hospital. And Officer Shaw, who was released last night but has a couple of days off. Holly's only ever met him briefly at a few crime scenes, but has heard rather a lot about him, as he is the only one of Gail's co-workers she actually enjoys talking about. She's partnered with officer Diaz again, but Holly guesses from the limited contact that today she is driving.

Her own day is proving to be decidedly uninteresting, the lack of dead bodies or body parts or items possibly belonging to dead bodies meaning that she has to fill her time working on one of her papers. Not that she doesn't find her research immensely interesting, it has just been longer than usual since she's had a dead body on her table, and she's getting antsy.

That was kind of morbid. Thoughts like that are probably the reason she doesn't have many friends aside from Gail. Not that that's ever bothered her.

She is therefore, very pleasantly surprised when a blonde police officer comes marching into her lab bearing a selection of sandwiches, two coffees and a bag of cookies.

Holly smiles and stands up, greeting the woman with a gentle kiss. "I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"You make a far better lunch buddy than Chris. And you bought dinner last night, so it's only fair."

"Well thank you, I'm very glad you're here. We should go to my office though, we're not actually supposed to eat in the lab." She leads the officer out of the lab and down the hallway.

"You have an office?"

"Yeah, I just use it for storage mainly, I prefer to do all my work in the lab."

"Mm, surrounded by death?" Gail teases.

"That too weird for you Peck?"

"No, I like it." And she means it, she can associate with the morbid weirdness someone would need to have to work with dead bodies all day, it's one of the reasons she finds Holly so easy to get along with, but also so interesting.

"I'm glad." She says, holding open the door to the small room so the other woman can enter. It is a slightly stuffy room, with walls lined with books and journals and a large dark wooden desk at its centre, which Gail dumps their food on. There are three chairs, one Holly's and the others on the other side of the desk for those rare times Holly has to hold meetings in there. She starts to wheel one of them around to her side of the desk so they don't have to sit with the lump of wood between them, but Gail has already perched herself on the desk next to the food..

Holly picks up a coffee and takes a sip, before grimacing. "I think this is yours. You weren't kidding about those triple shots, huh?"

"That's only a double." Gail grins, taking the cup from the other woman.

"Oh. Well I haven't had a double shot since I was in med school."

"How do you stay awake through the day?"

Holly shrugs. "Your body doesn't need all that caffeine. I try to limit myself to two coffees a day and then just supplement them with herbal teas."

"Are there any lesbian stereotypes you don't embody?" Gail asks, her mouth still half full of sandwich, but empty enough that Holly can understand her.

"You're so attractive." Holly grins. "It's not lesbian, it's healthy. Even two cups of coffee a day is quite a lot. And, for the record, I don't drive a pickup, and I've never owned a cat."

Gail's eyes narrow. "I don't really _do _healthy, just so you know. Or cats, so we're on the same page there."

"Don't worry Gail, I'm not going to start dragging you down the health foods aisle just yet."

"Thank you." Gail grins, leaning down to kiss the other woman lightly on the lips. "How, uh, how old were you when you first had sex with a woman?" She asks after she pulls back.

Holly settles back in her chair. "19, why?"

"I'm just trying to work out how many years catch up I have to do." Gail sips her coffee. "Who was it?"

"My first time? A girl I met at a gay bar, her name was… Lucy, I think."

Gail raises her eyebrows.

"Don't look at me like that. I was just out of the closet and my friend Jeremy took me to a gay bar to meet girls. I was so nervous I stayed at the bar and kept drinking, but Jeremy found her and introduced us, and then the next thing I remember we were at her place having sex."

"Was it good?"

"It… wasn't bad. But it wasn't amazing. I was so nervous the next morning that I just upped and left without getting her number and never saw her again. She wasn't my type, anyway, I was just so excited that another girl actually wanted to sleep with me that I went along with it."

"When did it, you know, get good?" Gail asks, taking a cookie from the bag and starting to eat it.

"I guess with my first girlfriend, when I was 20. Georgia; the one who was already a med student." She says, referring back to an earlier conversation about exes when the two were just friends.

Gail continues her irreverent questioning. "How long did you wait, when you were dating her, before you slept with her?"

"Jesus Gail, have you got an endless stream of questions in there?" Holly smiles lopsidedly, also taking a cookie from the bag. "I can't remember exactly. Maybe a couple of weeks."

"Sorry, I just was wondering, for reference or something?"

Holly tilts her head slightly. "You mean you were wondering how long it was going to be before I expected to have sex?"

Gail looks down and nods slightly. "I guess. It was just something Dov said earlier. It was stupid, and I talked myself out of blowing it out of proportion, which is kind of rare for me, but I couldn't help but wonder…?"

"What did he say?"

"He implied that because we were friends before, we must have been _wanting_ to sleep together for a while, so he thought that when we got together we would have had sex straight away. Primal desires and all that." Gail looks deeply at Holly to read her response carefully. But the brunette just scoffs a little.

"Well that's a flawed reasoning. Loads of people put off sex for a while even when they really want to have it."

"But you do, really want to have it?" Gail's endless questioning suggests a degree of vulnerability and apprehension, but her tone is one more of intrigue than worry.

"Well, yes, but in a flattering 'great, the girl I'm dating is crazy attracted to me and is really looking forward to having sex when I'm ready, but is perfectly happy with how we are right now' kind of way, not in a 'ugh, the girl I'm dating is so desperate to have sex she keeps pressuring me and won't be happy unless we do it' way."

Gail narrows her eyes, trying to assess how genuine Holly's statement was, but the brunette's face doesn't falter, only offers her a reassuring smile.

"And with regard to how long I usually wait; it's always different. I usually try to wait until we've had a few dates so that I know that I know them well enough, but that doesn't really count for you because we already know each other. I almost always wait longer than two days of dating, though, so if you were worried about tonight, don't be."

Gail sniggers at the difference between the two of them. "Two days is already pretty much the longest I've waited, except maybe my first boyfriend. With Nick it was about minus three months. I'm kind of a sex first, emotions later, sort of girl."

Holly laughs lightly to disguise her slight sadness at Gail's history of struggling to feel safe opening herself up to people emotionally. She's so spectacular to Holly, she doesn't understand how so many people have brought themselves to hurt her.

"I think I'm over freaking out about vaginas though." Gail observes, and Holly sprays cookie crumbs as she bursts out into laughter at the unexpected comment. Although with Gail, no comment should really be that unexpected, Holly reasons.

"Gross, Holly." Gail whines, flicking crumbs off her pants.

"I'm sorry, but what on earth do you mean?"

"I meant that even though I _am_ kind of nervous, I'm normal nervous." _'It's normal to be nervous'_ has been repeating on a cycle in her head all morning. "The idea of sex with you is more exciting than terrifying, I don't feel like I'll need alcohol to do it. I'm not some sort of easily startled new born. I mean, I can't guarantee that I'm not going to get down there and draw a complete blank as to what to do. But I'm more nervous about failing to meet _your _expectations than the fact you're a woman."

"I make you nervous?" Holly reaches up and takes Gail's hand in her own

"Yeah I mean, you have… what, fourteen years of experience I don't have? You're sexy and smart and a bit of a seasoned veteran. I'm a rookie again. And I really hated being a rookie."

"I'm really not that impressive. Don't be nervous of me. You make _me_ nervous."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Have you seen you? I mean, you say I'm sexy but you… you're effortlessly gorgeous. And you intimidate people, you have their respect. And you're out on the streets fighting crime all day, that's pretty hardcore; I spend all day cutting up dead people. I'm kind of a weirdo."

"We're both kind of weirdos, Holly." Gail retorts, pulling Holly into a standing position between her legs. The brunette's complimentary ramble has lit a slight fire inside her and she needs to feel her. To let her know that she feels the same. One hand reaches up behind her neck to pull her down into a kiss. It still astonishes her, the ease with which their lips work together.

When their tongues meet, Holly pulls Gail onto her feet without breaking their kiss, the leaning she had to do to meet Gail's lips when she was sat down causing a light ache in her lower back.

Gail's hand that isn't snaking up into her hair from the base of her neck slips around her waist, holding them tightly together. Holly's hands run up and down the sides of her bullet proof vest, cursing the thick material that is keeping her hands from being able to feel the woman's soft curves. Her hatred for the inanimate object increases more when Gail's hand slips under her shirt, tracing the hot skin of her lower back. Her own relinquish their vain attempt to feel Gail's torso, falling instead to knead her soft buttocks.

Gail moans at the sensation, pushing into Holly until her back hits the bookcase. Holly's hands reach up to cup her cheeks as the kiss breaks.

"You may not be freaked out by vaginas, but we probably shouldn't have sex right here." Holly sighs, leaning her forehead against Gail's, their noses brushing against each other.

"Maybe not."

"You look really sexy in this thing, but it sure is impractical when it comes to actually doing stuff." Holly observes, pulling on the shoulders of Gail's bullet proof vest.

"I'll remember not to wear it tonight."

"We're still on for dinner, then?"

"Of course." Gail reaches up to kiss her again. "And then whatever happens after that."

"We'll see where the night leads us. You might pass out on me again."

"I promise you that won't be a problem. But aside from that, I don't want to promise anything else. I'm not terrified, but I guess it is kind of soon."

"We'll just do what feels right to us." Holly says softly.

"You're amazing." Gail looks deeply into her eyes, like she's staring into her soul, and Holly feels herself melting under the gaze.

"You still want me to pick you up from work?"

"Yeah please. Actually, no, maybe from home? I'll text you when I get off shift and then maybe give me half an hour."

"Sure." Holly smiles, dipping down to kiss her gently.

* * *

_So much talking about sex, so little actual sex. (Story of my life, amirite?) I make no promises for the next chapter, but I'm getting there. (I refuse to believe based on that kiss in 5x10 that those two didn't get down and dirty at some point.) There will be less of this processing about sex next chapter though, I think I may have gone a tad overboard on that front._

_I'm also going to improve my planning because even for me this is dragging, if every chapter continues to cover the space of less than 12 hours I'm going to be writing this until I'm 50, so if you're getting bored by the speed this story is progressing at, rest assured, I'm working on that._

_Thank you, as ever, for reading, and reviewing, you are all wonderful. Your kind and lovely reviews inspire me to write when it's the middle of the week and I'm stuck reading endless articles about Latin American development strategies, and for that I am ever grateful._

_Until next time._


	6. Chapter 6

_Earlier than expected, but I started writing this one and just couldn't stop!_

_I was thinking half way through writing this chapter about how my writing style shifts around, and I realised that a lot of it depends upon the music I am listening to when I'm writing. Turns out to write the more delicate, slightly lingeringly thoughtful stuff, I need to listen to Rap. Who would have thought it._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

She doesn't know if it's because they don't know, they don't care, or because after four years of working together her colleagues have finally learnt not to question her on her private life, but Gail has had to deal with no questions about Holly all day. The combination of that, the fact that they are on patrol rather than issuing speeding fines, and the fading of her coldness towards Chris as she lay in Holly's arms last night, has actually led to a relatively good day at work. Her visit to the morgue at lunch boosted that 'relatively good' to 'solidly good'.

She has one more shift tomorrow, starting at 6am, but that at least means she won't be on shift on Friday evening, then both days of the weekend off, which itself is cause for a minor celebration. Then most of next week she'll be on nights.

So, that last bit's not ideal, but it's four days from now, Gail's certainly not dwelling on it right now. Even it's not even all bad, because on Monday, Oliver comes back to work. And Steve's latest intel from Mother Peck is that they are going to wait a week or so until they offer him the Staff Sergeant position. Ensure his faculties are still all there, that he's still up to the job. Whilst that does mean one more week of Jarvis, it also means one more week of working with beat cop Oliver.

Maybe something Gail's cynical side has snuck off into the shadows over the past few days, or maybe this is all just actually good news, but either way, she is definitely seeing the positive side of everything about the next week. By the time Holly texts her to let her know that she is waiting outside her apartment that evening, Gail is practically buzzing. When she sees the way Holly openly checks her out as she approaches in her tightest black jeans, the ones she had in mind to change into when she asked Holly to pick her up from her apartment instead of the precinct, she hits levels of happiness not experienced in a long, long time.

"Why is your mother telling you about the Staff Sergeant recruitment, surely that's kind of classified information?" Holly asks, as they sit on her sofa after dinner, drinking wine and discussing their days. Really, really nice wine. Definitely nicer than anything Gail has ever bought, except maybe for her mother's dinner parties.

"It is. Steve has this theory that she likes to tell us supposedly secret information about what's happening at the division to remind us that she always knows what's going on, to scare us into not messing up because she'll find out and find some passive aggressive way to ruin our lives."

"Like the Panopticon?"

"The shape?"

"No, that's a pentagon. It's a prison design that Michel Foucault used to develop social theory about mechanisms of control?"

Gail just raises her eyebrows in bewilderment.

"The Panopticon was a prison design, with tower in the middle with blacked out windows that overlooked the prisoners all the time, so even though they couldn't see if they were being watched all the time, they would behave as if they were. Foucault suggested that this was a kind of a metaphor for how human populations are controlled even when no-one's actually watch…"

Gail leans towards Holly and plants a gentle kiss on the other woman's lip, shutting her up. "You're such a nerd. How on earth do you know that stuff?"

"My first year roommate was a philosophy major, I used to find her courses so interesting when she talked about them, so I read books every now and then when I have some down time." Holly shrugs.

"You read philosophy books in your down time? And you used to talk to your roommate about your courses? I just used to get really drunk with mine."

"Not just philosophy, whatever interests me; there's so much stuff to learn out there. I find it incredible that one person is never going to know more than a fraction of humankind's collective knowledge. And my roommate was an incredibly interesting girl, for your information."

Gail's eyes narrow. "You fancied her, didn't you?"

Holly turns a very light shade of pink. "Only a little bit, in a closeted 18 year old kind of way."

A smirk emerges on Gail's lips, but it soon disappears as she runs her tongue across her lips absent mindedly, concentrating on what Holly was saying before she cut her off.

"So that whole Pentoptagon thing…" She starts.

"Panopticon." Gail scowls at Holly's interruption, and the brunette raises her hands in a mock apology, while her face contorts itself into a lopsided smile, as it so often does when Gail tries to give her best glares.

"Whatever. Basically you were saying that it's a way that the people are controlled into behaving as the establishment wants? That's kind of radical isn't it?"

"I guess, but it's just a theory. I find philosophy super interesting but I don't necessarily prescribe to all of it." She purses her lips in thought refills her glass of wine. "Some people have said though, and I think this bit makes sense, that Panopticism can be seen in the way that the Gestapo operated, because even though it was actually surprisingly small, people always felt they were being watched and acted that way. But as a theory for all societies, even those that are supposedly democratic; I don't know."

Gail's brow is still furrowed in concentration. "So… you're saying that my mother is like the Gestapo."

Holly bites her lip and narrows her eyes, trying to think of an appropriate answer. "I suppose I may have suggested they have similar methods. Sorry."

"No, it's alright." Gail grins and Holly doesn't think she's ever seen anyone look more happily devious. "I can't _wait_ to introduce you to her."

Holly raises her eyebrows questioningly.

"You are so smart, she is not going to know what to do with herself."

Holly gives a half exasperated laugh. "Well I'm glad I get to be a pawn in this ongoing Peck family battle of one-upmanship."

"You're way better than a pawn, you're… a King. You're a game changer."

Holly notices that Gail has been shuffling closer to her again, and watches as she takes Holly's wine glass from her hands, placing it next to her own on the coffee table.

"Actually the King is kind of weak in chess, it's the Queen who's the most powerful piece; the King pretty much just needs protecting the whole game, that's kind of the point…"

"Shut up, Holly." Holly looks into Gail's eyes, properly, deeply into them, and notices that they have darkened from their usual electric blue. Her breath hitches as Gail's eyes dart from her lips to her own darkening eyes and back again, and much like when Gail caught her off-guard in the interrogation room, her mind goes blank, probably because she's fairly sure all of her internal organs have spontaneously and simultaneously stopped working. She can't process what to do from here, but continue staring at Gail staring at her.

But there is no need to move, because Gail is in charge of this. She absorbed every one of Holly's words, catching all their meanings; intended and subliminal, stowing them away, but there is something increasingly taking over her mind that means she can't process them right now. A dark, deep blue something. A pure and unrivalled intelligence. A sceptical raising of the eyebrows and a playful smirk. A pair of dark chocolate eyes unwavering in their current undertaking to see right into the dark pits of her soul.

She doesn't consciously lean in to meet Holly's plush, full lips with her own, but she knows that it is happening and that she had every intention of doing it before she got so lost flickering her eyes over the soft features of her face.

And when it happens, it is everything she expected and more. They had kissed before; they had kissed softly, and passionately, and innocently, and slightly viciously, and deeply, and chastely, and firmly, and tenderly. But never before have so many of those adverbs been applicable at once. Never before have they kissed with this intensity. Never before have they melted into one another so wholly; never before have they melted into _anyone_ so wholly.

And then there is need. Need which leads Gail to instinctively twist so she is no longer sat to the side of the object of her affection but instead straddling her leg and gently guiding her to lie back into some of the many cushions adorning Holly's furniture. Need which is making the blood burn hot through their arteries from their head to their toes. Need which is pulsating between their legs even though their hands remain rooted in each other's hair rather than working to evoke reactions through the touching of bare skin. But need that is not so overwhelming that it consumes them and pulls them abruptly in one direction along that spectrum of love and lust. Not that it so much a spectrum but a complex web of emotions and interactions.

But whatever it is, whilst the need is unquestionably present, there is a sizeable assortment of competing instincts and feelings preventing it from becoming all-consuming just yet. It is desire, but a desire in a multitude of incarnations.

One is Gail's aspiration to take in everything about this moment in its slow, beautiful entirety. Another, her aim to explore every part of Holly's entity; every physical feature, every movement and every reaction. And, most prominently of all, is her desire to not consummate whatever is between them on a night she doesn't have the time to do both of the above.

But whilst Gail's resolve means it can't be a kiss of wandering hands and attempts to stimulate and tease and satisfy, it is still a kiss of intensity. Because of their gentle movements; slow but not languorous, like every little thing they do is to express how much they care, and they can both feel that. Because of the way that when their tongues brush against one another, they simultaneously release loud, uncontrollable moans that reverberate right the way through to their cores. Because of the way they can feel the heat from each other's arousal pressing against their thighs, for the first time displaying to both women the true nature of the effect they have on the other. But mostly because of the way that they looked into each other's eyes and could see each other falling at such a rate that nothing could stop them, and nothing will bring them back up. It is inescapable, and neither of them cares, as long as they're doing it together.

After what feels like an eternity and yet also no time at all, Gail pulls back and looks down at the woman underneath her, still not used to her hair not falling forwards to block the world out when she looks down like this.

"That was…" Holly whispers.

"Yeah." Gail breathes.

"You're something special."

"You… I can't believe how hot that was. I really wanted to touch you but I thought that probably wouldn't be conducive to me actually sleeping in my own bed tonight."

"You're not staying?" Holly's face falls slightly.

Gail gently drops another kiss onto the other woman's lips and Holly releases a loud breath in response. "I want to, believe me. I start at 6am tomorrow, I don't want to wake you up when I leave."

"I wouldn't mind."

"Also I can't really afford to spend all night doing stuff with you, which I would probably do if I stayed; I need my beauty sleep. But I'm off all weekend, if you are."

"Yeah."

"Good." Gail smiles, and settles between Holly and the back of the sofa, tracing her fingers over Holly's jeans as she rests her head on her shoulder.

"So what kind of stuff were you thinking?"

Gail frowns, and tilts her head up to meet Holly's questioning gaze. "I thought that much was obvious?"

"Oh right, so you were telling the truth earlier?"

"When I said that I'm over being freaked out…"

"Yes, you don't have to repeat it." Holly says hastily.

The frown hasn't left Gail's face, this conversation is baffling in so many ways. "I wouldn't have had you down as one of those prudes who can't say vagina."

"I'm not! I love everything about vaginas, the name included. It was just… kind of a crude way of wording it, and I didn't want to ruin the moment."

"I'm a habitual moment-ruiner, Holly, you're going to have to get used to it. And of course I was telling the truth. I want to have sex with you. After that little dalliance I know that even more than I did earlier."

"Dalliance?" Holly asks, eyebrows raised.

"Sh, I'm talking. What I meant when I told you that, was that I'm not going to have classic Gail freak out about it. You've done nothing but make sure I'm comfortable, and I am, you make me comfortable. But I was trying to make sure you feel comfortable."

Now it's Holly's turn to be confused. "How do you mean?"

"Remember when I couldn't touch your boob and you told me you wanted me to be comfortable touching you? Well you haven't touched my boob, you're so scared I'm going to run that you're not just doing what comes naturally."

"What, so you want me to touch your boob?"

Gail sits up, realising the unintended genius to Holly's suggestion.

Holly props herself up on her elbows, slightly nervous about what may be running through the blonde's head.

"Yes, I think you should touch my boob. To get over being uncomfortable. When I touched your boob it showed me that you wanted me to and that it wasn't going to spontaneously combust in my hand or something terrible like that. So if you touch my boob, it will show you I'm not going to run."

Holly is fighting so hard to not burst out into fits of laughter that she can't imagine what sort of unattractive expressions it is contorting her face into.

But Gail remains steadfast, a deadly serious look on her face, her penetrating gaze showing no signs of succumbing to the bizarre hilarity of the situation. She just continues blinking, unwavering, until Holly finally gives in and responds.

"I… that's completely absurd."

"No, it makes sense. Touch my boob, Holly."

"Just… here? Whilst we're sat like this. No build up or anything?"

Gail shuffles to sit more upright, turning slightly to lean against the back of the sofa with her legs draped over Holly's. "Yeah, just a simple, over the bra boob touch, I'll even keep my shirt on, which is more than you were wearing when I touched yours. Both times. Come on Holly, this is like a level one lesbian activity, my first boyfriend Justin did it, and he was fourteen."

Holly sighs. "Fine, Gail, I'll touch your boob."

Gail's face lights up in triumph. "Don't sound like it's such a hardship."

Holly adjusts her position so she is also sat upright, and reaches out tentatively, before pulling back slightly.

"This is weird. It's like the least sexy way to touch a boob." She says, her hand hovering awkwardly between them.

Gail shakes her head lightly. "No, Justin was about as unsexy as this."

"Was he the boob biter?"

"We were fourteen, I let him grope me lightly over my clothes, not get near them with his mouth!"

"Right yeah. Sounds like you have a whole wealth of history of bad boob experiences."

"Exactly, so you really have no reason to be scared. There is virtually no chance of you being anywhere near the worst. Just do it. Do you want me to take your hand and guide you like you did to me, because I will." Gail looks at her earnestly.

"No, fine, I'll do it."

Gail offers an encouraging smile as the hand reaches out and lightly grazes her right boob, lingering there as Holly looks at her with a mystified expression.

"That's what you've got? A whole fourteen years of lesbian experiences and that's what you're giving me. I barely felt that."

Holly rolls her eyes and takes a hold of the soft flesh under her palm, moving her hand to stroke the entire beautiful rounded mass from top to bottom, where she stops.

She notices Gail's shift as she does it, from flirtatiously petulant to dazed, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips.

"Like that?"

"Yeah, something like that." Gail croaks, and Holly starts to stroke the breast with her thumb, feeling an ever so slight bump emerge through the layers of fabric at the site of her hardened nipple. Gail breaths in sharply as her thumb moves, and Holly can see her desperately trying to come up with a way to respond, so she drops her hand back to her lap.

"That was… unfair. You're a tease." Gail protests, her voice low.

"Well, I really do hate to play this game but you started it, Gail."

"I know, I just wasn't expecting…" Gail snaps out of her daze, shaking her head. "See, it worked, we crossed a boundary and now you know that I'm not going to freak out if you touch me. So in the future, you can touch me without worrying."

"I know that's how it works in theory, but what if I take it a step to far?" Holly argues.

"You won't, because I'm not scared of this, of anything, right the way down to scissoring or whatever -if that's actually a thing, I've received conflicting messages-; everything. And if I feel like maybe I'm not completely prepared for something in the moment, because I'm feeling nervous, because it's _you, _not because you're a chick; I'll tell you, and we can do something else. And if you feel like I'm going too fast, or if I'm doing something weird and completely un-erotic, you tell me, and we can do something else. It's how this whole dating thing works; it's no fun if we're constantly scared of each other."

Holly still looks slightly worried though, so Gail reaches out and strokes her cheek.

"Hey, you said it best, earlier, you said; 'We'll just do what feels right to us', and that's what we'll do. And to me, everything we've done so far, us; it feels right, so that's how we'll carry on. No pressure to do anything, no fear of doing anything."

Holly nods slowly "It feels right to me too."

"Good." Gail nods contentedly, leaning in for a chaste kiss. "I should call Chris, he said he'd give me a lift home."

"Sorry, if I knew you weren't staying I wouldn't have had a drink. I can pay for a taxi if you want?" Holly says apologetically.

"It's okay, he owes me anyway for telling Dov he thought we were sleeping together. And I don't take taxis anymore, after… you know." They had spoken, briefly, when they were friends about the abduction. Only for Gail to confirm that Holly had heard about it, as of course, working with police officers every day, she had. She hadn't regaled the details to the brunette. And Holly hadn't pushed for them. Gail liked that, with Holly it was a thing that 'just was'. If Gail wanted to talk about it, she could, but if she wanted to ignore it, as she usually did, she could also do that, without feeling like she was hiding anything.

"Well he wasn't far off, we have slept in the same bed."

"I'd say he's currently about 3 bases off." Gail says, gesturing towards her breast.

Holly gives her a light shove to the shoulder before standing up. "Call your roommate, Peck."

~x~

Twenty minutes later, they are parting with goodnight kisses and promises that Gail will text the pathologist when she's safely home.

The drive is quiet, Gail watches the lights around them increase in number as they head deeper into the city.

"You have a good evening?" Chris asks, eventually.

Gail shrugs. "Yep." Pleasantries were never really her thing. She never saw the point, you can tell from the look on someone's face if they've had a good day or not. People either ask if you're okay to just be polite, or because they have something they really want to tell you about their day. And Gail would really rather they just tell you, even though most of the time she has no interest in hearing it, rather than fanny around pretending to care about yours. Why not be honest, and just tell them what you want to say? Gail Peck may not be many things, but she is certainly honest, and she can pride herself on that. Some say 'brutally honest', but it is honesty nonetheless.

People care too much about what other people think about the insignificant parts of their lives.

Her friends often seem to think that she doesn't care what anyone thinks about her at all. And that's not true, she cares when people who are supposed to be her friends think she's entitled, or that she's heartless, or that she's somehow not as good or deserving as everyone else. But she doesn't care whether the average man on the street thinks she has no manners, or what her colleagues think of her diet. There's a difference that people seem to struggle to grasp.

Christ interrupts her contemplations. "Traci called to suggest we go to the Penny tomorrow night. She said she tried to call you but it went to voicemail."

That was true. Holly had been in the middle of a story about the last guy she ever dated. The poor, unsuspecting guy was the fall guy in so many of Holly's more entertaining stories about discovering her sexuality. Gail would've felt bad for him if it wasn't so funny. So yes, she hadn't picked up Traci's call. But when she never tried to phone again, Gail supposed it can't have been that important.

"Oh right, I must have missed it; I didn't hear it ring." Okay, so she may not be completely honest all the time, but Chris is the moral police and this is such a trivial issue she really doesn't need to argue with him over it.

"Yeah. So are you coming?"

"To the Penny?"

Chris nods. "Yeah."

"I'll probably be with Holly."

"You could bring her." Chris suggests.

Gail lets out a short laugh. More like a bark, than a laugh really. "Yeah, right, like I'm going to introduce you to her animals. She's already had one run-in with Dov, that's enough interaction for the year." She scoffs.

"You think you'll still be together in a year?" Chris asks, half surprised, half slightly excited.

"It's a turn of phrase, Chris." Gail groans.

"Come on Gail, you should come, everyone's going to be there, except Chloe and Sam, obviously, but everyone else. You, me, Dov, Traci..."

"You almost had me at 'except Chloe' but no, thank you."

Chris ignores her interruption. "…Steve, Nick, Andy…"

"Nick and Andy! Really!" She says with her best sarcastic cheeriness "You're really doing a good job of selling this one to me Chris, do continue."

"…Oliver..."

That caught her attention.

"Oliver's going to be there?" She tries to play it cool.

"Yeah, it was his idea."

Gail ponders it for a moment. "I guess I could come. For an hour or so. Then go to Holly's. I'll have to check she didn't have anything planned for us. But okay. Yeah. Maybe."

"Great!" Chris grins cheerily. "It's gonna be so cool; the gang back together again!"

"We never split up, Chris." Gail points out.

"Yeah, but feels like so long since we've all been around and everything hasn't been about this shooting. And even so, it hasn't really been like we've all been here, what with you not talking to Andy, but now she's back with Sam..."

"I'm not going to suddenly decide to like her because she's no longer screwing my ex-boyfriend, Chris. That doesn't change the fact that it happened."

"And you're seeing Holly?" Chris offers.

"Doesn't stop it being a dick move and a betrayal of trust." Gail shrugs. And it doesn't. Nick, she's over, she could probably cope with being back on speaking terms with him in the near future, now he's no longer sleeping with the girl he fancied while they were together. She can't forgive him for that, but she doesn't feel angry at him anymore. She can't exactly lie and say that it's not helping that she's happy with Holly and he's slightly heart broken, but she's been over him for a while; since before Holly, and before Andy left him.

But Andy broke the code. No two ways about it. She had Gail's trust, Gail did nothing to push Andy into doing something to hurt her –something she can't exactly say about Nick-, and she did it anyway. Gail Peck doesn't really have much experience with friendship, but even she knows that's what Andy pulled was a straight up violation of the rules that govern how friends treat one another.

"Okay, well it feels like a reunion to me. We'll all be there, like when we started out, without our boyfriends and girlfriends, except Traci who'll bring the detective she's dating…"

"She certainly has a type." Gail muses.

"It'll be like we're rookies again!"

Gail frowns. "I'm not going to sleep with you again if that's what you're trying to suggest."

"I know!"

He looks over and sees Gail is not sharing in his excitement.

"Well I'm looking forward to it, even if you aren't!"

But Gail is already lost to him, her mind back on Holly, and their agreement to _communicate_ about what they wanted to do, in terms of sex. That's a new one. Communication. And it actually doesn't feel terrible. It feels good. It feels safe. It feels like trust. Okay, maybe she's not one hundred percent ready to open herself up and trust right at this present moment. She can thank McNally for that one. But she's getting there. Very close to there. But communication; that's new.

~x~

Three hours into Gail's shift the next morning, her phone buzzes in her pocket and she hears from Holly for the first time that day.

Holly: _Just got into work ;-) How's the early shift going?_

Gail: _Long. Weird waking up without your babbling this morning_

Holly: _Was going to say it was nice to wake up under the covers, thief_

Gail: _Ha! Original_

Holly: _Don't pretend like yours was a comedic masterpiece_

Gail: _It was and you know it was_

Holly: _Do you have any plans for tonight? I usually order in on Fridays, may let you have some of my some of mango salad_

Gail:_ Crap, said I'd go to the Penny for Oliver's 'I'm alive' party tonight. Meant to be going at 8, maybe could come to yours at 9.30ish. Would probably need a lift though? _

Holly: _:-(_

Holly: _That's okay, you have a night with your friends, we've seen loads of each other this week_

Gail: _No, I want to see you more than them_

Holly: _We can see each other tomorrow. And at lunch because I bought last night's leftovers in and there's enough for two (even if one of the two is you, yes)_

Gail: _Definite yes to lunch. But I'm seeing you tonight, even if I have to not drink and steal a squad car to get there! _

Holly: _Okay, I'll pick you up. Pls don't steal a squad car, don't want our night to be interrupted by you getting arrested_

Gail: _You're the best_

Holly: _I know. But I'll wait until you text me, so you can stay later if you want. No pressure for you to come if you change your mind_

Gail: _Highly unlikely. Can't wait until lunch! Also save me a spring roll later, but no veggie crap_

Holly: _Shrimp?_

Gail: _It'll do_

* * *

_So all of this fills about a quarter of the plan I had for the 6th chapter in total. Apparently I have no self-control. Have you ever meant to just write 'they kiss, and then they pull back and discuss', and it's turned into a page of prose? Yeah. That happened. Sorry._

_I know it's not as long as the last chapter but I wanted to post it today because I'm not sure how much more work I'll be able to do on it._

_Thank you once again for your lovely, lovely reviews. Someone pointed out that they couldn't get to my tumblr, I'm not sure why that was, it may be because I just set it up on Saturday as a secondary blog to my main, personal one on the account. Either way, my username is bronaldinhothesecond, and I'll put the link on my profile here. Send me your prompts if you have any and I'll try to get them done ASAP._

_Please keep your reviews coming, they keep me going, and I probably wouldn't have gotten around to writing this chapter this week if it wasn't for them. (That's not meant to sound like bribery. Apologies)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry this took soooo long, I wrote the first half, then life got crazy with papers and holidays (happy belated Canadian Thanksgiving, by the way), and poorly-prepared-for city breaks. Got here in the end though._

_I've been thinking about the timeline in terms of where this season takes place on the Calendar. I think I read an interview that said that season five takes place over the course of about 3/4 months (based on the Marlo situation at the end of the season), which is what I've been using for planning the arc of the Golly story. And based on the weather (Snow at the beginning of the season to more spring-looking weather at the end) I've put it at taking place from about January to April, so this part of the story is in January, maybe February. And in my headcanon I would say that Holly and Gail met in about October time, based largely on attire, but also I think that seems like an appropriate amount of friendship time for how their relationship developed. Just clueing you into my thinking, I'm not sure it will ever be relevant to the story, but I thought I would share just in case._

* * *

Despite Gail's earlier assurances as they ate lunch that she would be sick of her friends within an hour and that Holly should expect a text at about 9pm, asking to be picked up, it is close to 11 by the time her phone rings. Not that Holly is waiting on tenterhooks for the call; as she settled down to catch up on her research after eating half of the Thai food she had ordered for dinner –suspecting that a drunk Gail may need more than just a couple of spring rolls to satisfy that seemingly endless appetite- she realises that spending most of her free time that week with the blonde has caused her to fall further behind than she had expected. Which raises questions Holly doesn't really want to answer about what proportion of her days had been spent on various work projects instead of socialising before Gail had entered so fervently into her life.

So when Gail's caller id pops up on the screen of her phone, she herself is so engrossed in her work that she has no perception of how long it has been since she settled down to work. The slight slur and unusual vigour to the voice on the other end gives her a slight idea, though.

"Doctor Stewart." It says.

Holly feels her lips curling up into a smile at the sound of the other woman's voice. "Officer Peck. What can I do for you?"

There is a slight pause before she replies. "Are you angry?"

Holly's brow furrows in confusion. "Why would I be angry?"

"You called me Officer Peck."

"You called me Doctor Stewart."

"I did?"

"Yep." Holly smirks slightly.

She pauses again. "Oh, okay, that's cool then." And another pause. "I don't have dementia, I told everyone I was leaving so they kept buying me drinks. Loads of drinks. Nick got me at leeeaaaast three." She drags out the word, jumping at least an octave in pitch. "Maybe he wants to get back together now Andy's gone again." Holly's eyes narrow as she wonders where this may be going, but remains quiet, waiting for Gail to get there on her own. "But why would I do that when I've got you? Nick's stupid if he thinks he's better than you."

A faint smile re-emerges on her face. "Thank you, Gail."

"I mean it, you're my favourite. And you don't know it, because you can't kiss you, but you're a really good kisser. You're like magic, like POW!" Gail's voice suddenly disappears and Holly hears a loud crashing sound then a slightly scuffling.

Then Gail's voice is back again. "I dropped my phone. I was doing an explosion with my arms, which is stupid because you can't see me… you _should _see me, we should FaceTime!"

"I don't have an iPhone, Gail."

"Skype?"

"I think just talking like this is fine for now."

"Are you sure? I have the app and everything."

"I'm sure."

Gail hums softly on the other end of the line.

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" Gail asks, eventually.

"Of course I do."

"I thought for ages that you forgot because you were drunk or something, because you never said anything about it."

"I was slightly drunk, but I didn't mention it because I didn't want to scare you off. I liked you, and I thought if I kissed you, maybe if you liked me too you'd say something, but you never said anything so I just left it. I also did it to shut you up though, remember, you kept asking all those ridiculous questions." Honestly Holly has no idea how much of that kiss really was to shut Gail up and throw her off her game, even though it obviously had that effect. Looking back, she remembers Gail's incessant questioning and her complete lack of inhibition when it came to so naturally firing insults at her, being so cute and intriguing that with that much champagne in her system there was really very little chance of Holly not kissing her.

Gail ponders this for a few moments before responding. "I'm drunk now too." She eventually says fervently.

"I'd guessed that."

"Will you still pick me up even though I'm drunk?" She asks solemnly.

"As long as you promise not to throw up in my car."

"I promise." Holly can almost hear Gail nodding on the other end of the line.

"Then I can pick you up. Do you want me to come now?"

"Please. These guys are losers. They tricked me with those free drinks. I wanted to be with you."

"I'm on my way. See you soon. Maybe don't have anything more to drink before I get there."

"It's out of my control. People just keep giving them to me." Gail replies earnestly.

Holly sighs slightly, but can't help an amused smirk appearing on her lips. "Whatever you say honey, I'll be there soon."

"Thank you."

Holly waits to see if Gail is going to end the phone call as she pulls on her jacket, but hears only the soft sound of the blonde's breathing for a few long moments, until the faint but clear sound of a door opening and a distant hum of background chatter can be heard on the other end of the line, and an excited male voice speaks.

"Hey Gail, are you coming back in?"

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute."

"Cool, hurry up, Traci's destroying Dov at darts!" The door shuts again before Gail has time to reply, silencing the background noise once again.

"That was Chris, I should head back inside." Gail says into the phone. "Are you on your way?"

"I'm just about to put on my shoes then I'll be out the door. I'll see you soon." Holly finds herself smiling uncontrollably at the prospect of seeing the officer again. Even if she is somewhat intoxicated. And they saw each other at lunch. And every evening for the last four nights. It should worry her that she feels this way this quickly, but the reality of how Gail gets her heart racing makes any kind of worrying nigh impossible.

"Hurry up!"

"I am, I'll be quicker once I put the phone down!"

Gail huffs audibly. "Fine." Holly can imagine her pout and it only stretches her smile wider. "I'm hanging up, get a move on, I miss you!"

"Bye Gail!" Holly manages to get in just before she hears the beep of the call being killed, although whether or not Gail heard her is a mystery to the brunette. That uncontrollable smile lingers on her expression as she gets into her car and starts the drive to the Penny.

~x~

When she pulls up at the bar, Holly is instantly struck with a dilemma she hadn't previously considered; whether or not to enter the building and greet Gail in front of her friends. Or more precisely, whether or not Gail wants her to enter the building and greet her.

She decides it's probably safer to settle just for texting the blonde to alert her to her arrival, but when, five minutes after sending the initial text, she has received no response, she realises she's probably going to have to enter the bar, whether the blonde wants her to or not.

Inside, Holly immediately spots the distinctive platinum blonde hair of her girl at the bar, talking to Detective Nash. Unlike Nash, Holly notes, Gail doesn't have a drink in her hands.

Accepting this is probably one of the better scenarios that Holly could have entered into; Traci has already seen Gail being more intimate -emotionally at least- with Holly than any of their other workmates. Not that Holly is really sure what she is so nervous about; Gail has already told her that most of her workmates know about them, and doesn't particularly care if the others find out, so long as they don't make a big deal about it.

Still, she finds herself only approaching Gail and the Detective tentatively, but Gail notices her before she reaches them and breaks out into a smile, putting Holly's nerves to rest somewhat.

Traci turns to see what has caused the sudden change in Gail's expression, and her lips too curl into a smile when she spots the source of the blonde's happiness. "Doctor Stewart."

"Holly, please."

"Holly. I didn't know you were joining us for a drink?" Traci asks.

"I… uh, I'm not… I'm actually just here to pick up Gail." Holly replies, unsure of whether or not Gail was expecting her to hang around, as she steps next to the Officer, who places a hand on her lower back, in a way that would be hard for many of the other officers in the room to spot unless they really looked, but still manages to reassure Holly that Gail is glad of her presence. "We can hang around for a while longer if you want?" She asks.

Gail shakes her head. "Take me home."

"Okay." Holly smiles. "Do you have a jacket?"

Gail scrunches her face up in thought, a look that doesn't pass Traci's notice. "It's with Steve, I'll grab it for you." The Detective says, and Holly offers a thankful smile in response as she leaves the pair alone at the bar.

"How many drinks did you have exactly?" Holly asks.

Gail shrugs. "Lost count, had to make this whole thing bearable somehow." She replies as she fiddles with the belt of Holly's coat. "Did you save me some take out?"

"Really? You can't remember if you brought a jacket but you remember what I was having for dinner?" Holly leans across and pinches her side.

"I never forget food Holly. Did you?"

"Yes."

"You're the best."

"Well I didn't want to have to deal with a drunk, hungry, cranky Gail for the first night of our weekend." Holly teases.

"Maybe cranky Gail will go home with Chris and Dov instead." Gail pouts.

"We both know that's not going to happen." Holly smirks, resisting every urge to lean over and plant a gentle kiss on those lips.

Traci re-emerges, Gail's jacket over her forearm, putting a halt to their gentle teasing. She chucks the jacket at the officer, who removes her hand from Holly's back to catch it. Holly instantly misses the touch, as light as it had been.

"You're off?"

Gail nods in reply.

"Well, have a good weekend." A wide smile stretches across Traci's face, and a glint of something Holly can't quite place sparks in her eye. What Holly can read though, is Gail's exasperated eye roll.

"Holly, will you tell her we're not just going to be banging all weekend?" Gail asks, reminding the two brunettes once again of the level of her intoxication. But whilst Traci releases a barely contained stifle, Holly blinks, finding herself in the rare situation of being unsure quite how to respond to the blonde. She's never experienced drunk Gail before when she, too hasn't been equally drunk. And she's definitely never seen Gail this drunk before, aside from the night of the hair massacre, but Holly always suspected that other factors were more at play the alcohol she had consumed. But she would find it hard to state, if she was being truly honest, she hadn't been intrigued by what the effects of a large volume of alcohol would be on her when she wasn't at her emotional breaking point. From this last minute or so, it would seem that the sober bluntness remains, but the determination to keep people out of her life no matter what the cost does not.

In the face of silence, Gail continues, ignoring Holly's slight tugging on her shirt. "Tell her. She thinks we've been screwing each other all week. Tell her we haven't done it yet."

"Gail…" Holly says softly.

"Holly." Gail whines.

Holly somehow manages to resist the pout she has come to adore so much, and turns to Traci. "We should get going."

Traci nods, smile still plastered on her face. "Probably."

"I'll see you soon, hopefully. Well, not hopefully because if I see you it usually means someone's been murdered, but, you know…"

"Shut up, nerd." Gail cuts off Holly's rambling, takes her arm and drags her towards the door. "Bye Trace!" She shouts without looking back.

~x~

They don't really talk during the drive home, more due to Gail's singing and dancing along to the radio than because of a lack of things to say. Holly can't help but glance over at the woman next to her more often than is probably safe, slightly entranced by her ridiculous moves. Gail's ability to look completely ludicrous and not care what anyone thinks of her –an odd trait when paired with her emotional reservedness, which makes Holly wonder quite when she became so detached in her relationships, evidently she was not born cripplingly closed off and brimming with self doubts-, whether she is drunk or sober, draws Holly to her with a strength hard to combat. When Holly first observed that, was when she realised how good of friends they would become. She'd spent her life seeking out people who embraced weirdness, and here she'd found someone who not only did that with fervour, but is also stunningly beautiful. And still stunningly beautiful when she is pulling faces into the invisible mic she is singing into.

It is one of the only things they really had in common, that unabashed oddness; but somehow that was enough. It isn't an issue, it just makes everything else so much more interesting. She is forever discovering new things about Gail. Like the fact that she can sing. That is a new discovery of this car journey.

"We should go dancing!"

Holly doesn't hear the first time Gail makes the declaration, not expecting interaction to interrupt what has been so far ten minute of near constant singing to some truly dreadful music. That one isn't new to Holly; that Gail has an awful, and very particular taste in music. She discovered early on in their friendship that Gail will flick through the radio stations at the end of each song in order to find a tune which suits her desires, and nine times out of ten it is a song Holly would never have chosen to listen to if she was alone.

"Holly!" Gail says when Holly does not acknowledge her suggestion.

"Huh?"

"We should go dancing. Go out. You can take me to a gay bar!" Holly can hear the palpable excitement in her voice, and it breaks her heart slightly to deny her.

"We're almost home. And I'm not really dressed for dancing." Holly gestures to her jeans, slightly loose sweater and long black jacket; definitely designed more for fighting that biting Canadian winter cold than for a night out in the city.

"You are, leave the jacket in the car, those jeans are pretty tight, they show off your ass, so they're fine, and then… are you wearing anything under your sweater?"

"Just a henley. And I'm wearing those fluffy socks."

"The soft ones?"

Holly nods, smiling at the memory of Gail marching around her house in her favourite pair of warm, soft, fluffy socks the morning after she burnt herself at the grow op.

"I love those socks." Gail says, slightly dreamily.

"I know. But they're not really designed for gay bars."

"Why, are you worried some chick will see them and decide she doesn't want to go home with you?"

"Not in the slightest, if we went I'd already know before we got in that I was going home with the hottest girl there." Holly flashes Gail a grin and squeezes her knee.

Gail scowls slightly. "Someone's feeling confident. Who says I'd go home with you?"

"Well I am your ride. And your friends are pretty smashed, so I wouldn't count on them picking you up."

"Maybe I'd find some other girl to take me home."

"Is that how this works, I get you on weekdays then weekends you're fair game for the rest of Toronto's lesbians?"

"Pretty much." Gail shrugs.

"Well I guess I would want some time off anyway. You know how far you've made me fall behind on my work?"

Gail frowns, this time Holly can see, even in her periphery, that there is something more than an attempt to antagonise behind it. "You mean you want to spend less time together?"

"Not for a moment. I wouldn't change this week for the world."

Gail's face relaxes and Holly squeezes her knee again.

"I can catch up when you're on nights."

Gail groans, and they return to silence for a minute or so.

"So no dancing?" Gail asks, eventually, remembering how their conversation had started.

"Not tonight. We could go tomorrow if you want, though."

Gail leans across and places a soft kiss on Holly's cheek, before returning to tune the radio into a new song to sing along to.

~x~

When Gail wakes the next morning she is alone in Holly's large bed. The only slight hammering in her head makes her immediately grateful for the two large glasses of water Holly made her drink before they got into bed. She pulls herself out of bed, locates Holly's discarded socks on the floor by the door, and exits the room, following the scent of coffee down the stairs.

Holly is sat at the breakfast bar, a book open in front of her, with one hand on the handle of a mug on the bar and the other holding a phone to her ear, wearing a loose blue flannel shirt over the tank and pants she wore to bed. Gail can hear a woman's voice speaking in her ear, but not who or what they are saying. When Holly notices her she smiles widely, gesturing to one of the mugs of coffee on the bar as she does so. Gail takes it gratefully and sips it as she surveys the brunette as she listens intently to the voice on the other end of the line.

"Sorry." Holly mouths apologetically.

Gail raises her eyebrows in response, and returns her mug to the counter top, shuffling over to place a long but chaste kiss on the other woman's lips. Neither woman notices as the voice stops speaking, until a loud, questioning voice projects from the speaker. "Holly?"

"Yes, Mom?" Holly says into the receiver as they pull apart, pinching Gail's stomach as the blonde starts giggling. "No, I'm still here, sorry." The voice returns to its previous continuous buzzing, and Holly rolls her eyes.

Gail shuffles around behind Holly, wrapping her arms around her middle and resting her chin on the other woman's shoulder as she peers down at the book on the counter in front of them. She recognises the story from her school years, and scans the page, before reaching down to turn it.

Holly turns her head to look at the blonde. "I'm not finished on that page yet." Holly whispers, covering the microphone on the phone with her hand as she does so.

"Should have read it faster then." Gail counters. She leans in to place a kiss on the lips centimetres from her own, but Holly pulls back, eyebrows raised, and glances pointedly towards the open book.

Gail sighs, and turns the page back again, before leaning in to claim her brief reward from the brunette's lips.

It doesn't take long, however, before Gail bores of waiting for Holly to finish reading her page and turns her attention to Holly's neck and shoulder, exposed where her shirt has slipped down her arm. She trails kisses along the collar bone there, enjoying the feeling as Holly shudders slightly under her touch.

She proceeds to continue the trail up the olive skin of the woman's neck to her ear, sucking on the points where her kisses evoke the strongest reaction from the woman in her arms. Gail smiles to herself as Holly's occasional interjections to her mother's ramblings become shorter and husky. She repeats her path across Holly's skin back and forth, slipping her hands under the other woman's tank top to massage the skin she finds there. Holly's hand drops to grasp her forearm, stopping her left hand in its path northwards.

Gail halts her ministrations in order to pout at the pathologist who raises her eyebrows warningly at her. Gail rolls her eyes but returns her mouth to its previous task, running her tongue along the skin behind her ear, forcing a Holly to purr softly.

Her movements grow less gentle the longer the conversation goes on, sucking and nibbling until eventually she bites down on her pulse point, causing a soft "shit" to escape Holly's lips.

However, despite its softness, it doesn't escape her mother's notice.

"No, no, sorry mom... Something just... A cat just got in and started causing trouble ... I know, I thought I'd nailed it down ... no you don't have to go, I'll deal with it later ... It's fine, honestly ... Mom, no ... Fine, okay, speak to you soon ... Love you, bye."

Holly turns to look at the blonde, who is grinning gleefully.

"Are you pleased with yourself?"

"Always." Gail leans in and finally meets their lips in the deep kiss she has been longing for all morning, tongues dangerously stroking each other. "I don't like waiting that long for my good morning kiss, just so you know." Gail informs her when they part.

"Sorry, she likes to ramble a bit..."

"So it's genetic?"

Holly ignores her interruption. "I can't cut short conversations with her though, I've never been able to lie to her."

"Why lie? Just tell her you have a smoking hot blonde who needs your attention."

"You want me to tell my Mom about you? Bear in mind that she will demand to meet you immediately."

"Hm, maybe not." Gail leans in to gently capture Holly's lips once again, before resting her chin on her shoulder once more. "What's the plan for today?"

"I was going to suggest we go out for breakfast but after that, I don't know. I didn't know if you'd want to spend all weekend together."

"That probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Charming. How's your hangover?"

Gail starts absent-mindedly flicking through the book on the counter now Holly's attention has been drawn from it. "I've had worse. Nothing a little aspirin won't sort out."

"Do you still want to go out again tonight?"

"Yeah, do you not?"

"I'm happy to, I just thought… well, it's been years since I drank heavily two nights in a row." Holly shrugs lightly with the shoulder Gail is not resting her weight on.

"That's because you're a dinosaur, Holly."

Holly responds by poking her in the ribs. "I am four and a half years older than you."

"Cougar." Gail smirks.

"Shut up. Don't pretend you don't dig it."

"I guess I kinda do. But it doesn't matter that you're an old crone, I'm the one who'll have been drinking for two nights straight, and my youthful body can handle any amount of alcohol."

"Whatever you say, Gail. I'll make us some dinner later then we can go to some bars. We should go get changed if we're going to make it to breakfast soon, though."

"Mm, hang on, I just wanna stay like this for a while." Gail murmurs, nuzzling into Holly's collar.

Holly turns her head and places a kiss on Gail's temple, twisting her own arms around Gail's as they maintain their hold around her waist. If she had been told by someone a week ago that this is where she would be this morning, she would have thought they were insane and deluded. But it is happening, and there's no place she'd rather be. Then she looks down and notices something.

"Are you wearing my socks?" She asks.

"They're comfy."

"I wore them yesterday."

"Don't care." Gail hums into her shoulder, and the feeling of hot breath against her skin causes Holly to grasp tighter onto the other woman's arms, sinking into the soft body pressing against her back.

~x~

When they finally make it to breakfast, Gail recounts her night to the brunette, who in turn explains the research she was working on in the blonde's absence. She has never been able to do that before; discuss her work, unless she was in relationships with other people with medical training. But Gail listens attentively, asking questions where she doesn't understand and actually showing a genuine interest in what she has to say. And when she doesn't look interested it's only because she's looking impressed, or almost proud, and it warms Holly's heart.

"I'm sorry, I've been talking about this for ages now. You can cut me off if you want." Holly says.

"No, no. You're kind of weirdly attractive when you're geeking out about stuff. I like it." Gail replies, not quite able to meet Holly's eyes as she offers the compliment, so not used to praise; either giving or receiving.

"You're one of the first to think so."

"Everyone else are morons, Holly. I've told you this before." Gail says, before taking the straw to her milkshake in her mouth and drinking.

Holly chuckles lightly. "That's true." Holly takes a mouthful of pancake and chews, before speaking again. "So I have a question."

Gail stops slurping at her drink. "Yeah?"

"How much exactly did you tell your friends about us last night?"

"Us?"

"You and me. And what we do. Or don't do."

"Oh, right. Well, first of all; friends?" Gail asks sceptically. Holly's mouth twitches into a knowing smile. She has heard regularly about the various ways in which her colleagues prove themselves to be terrible friends. But for all their faults, and yes they certainly have them; Gail was in definite need of a confident, a person she could trust in and rely on, who believed in her and saw past the shit and cared for what was inside. Her friends are largely dreadful at that side of friendship. She needed, as arrogant as it is to admit it, a Holly, even in a platonic sense. For all their faults, she knows that Gail cares for them, and that they too care for her. They were never going to be her best friends, but those other friends; the ones who you can go drinking with, and gossip with and who may not completely get you but will pull you up when you're sinking, Gail has those, as hard-pressed as she is to admit it.

"Secondly, I don't remember a whole lot, but I didn't tell them much. I know I'm not like my usual… _me_, when I'm drunk, but I don't completely lay myself bare. I only told Traci stuff because she was implying that we were going to be having a dirty weekend together. And then I think I was telling Chris a little about you, but only you, not us or what we do together. But he was more drunk than me so he probably doesn't remember that at all. I don't mind them knowing that we're together, but I don't want them intruding on our relationship, and I definitely don't want them thinking about our sex life; that's our business, not theirs."

"Okay. Good. I feel the same way." Holly smiles.

"So do your friends know about us?" Gail asks.

"My best friends do. But only because I had to tell them they can stop setting me up with people now. And because I was kind of ridiculously excited when you said we were dating. Not that I thought you would call us off, that's just when I started to let myself think that we could really be something."

"What did you tell them?"

Holly smiles shyly. "Just that you're beautiful, and brave, and funny. And that I like you, and you like me. What did you tell Chris about me?"

"That you're more comfy to cuddle than him, mostly. I guess you're better at being complimentary than me."

"I'll take what I can get." Holly laughs softly.

"If I told him anything nicer he'd probably freak out and think you'd got Celery to put me under a love spell or something."

"Who's to say I haven't?" Holly raises an eyebrow questioningly.

"Like you need a love spell to get girls, with that brain and those boobs?"

Holly grins. "I think you may be a boob girl, Gail."

"I don't know for sure yet. I'll let you know when I've been able to conduct a thorough investigation." Gail flashes a cheeky grin.

Holly flushes slightly. "Get back to your milkshake, Peck."

Gail smirks, taking the straw back between her lips as she watches Holly fight to avoid eye contact as the blush slowly fades from her cheeks.

* * *

_Thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read, and sorry once again for the delay. Your reviews are so much appreciated, thank you so much for your lovely, lovely words, please do keep them coming, they inspire me and lift me up._

_I am busy for the first part of this week and then my schedule loosens up a bit, so more is coming soon._

_I have changed my tumblr name to 'largechildorsmalladult' because I chose my previous username in about a minute and hated it within about two days. Link is on my user profile if you want to contact me via tumblr with prompts, messages, anything._

_Thank you once more._


	8. Chapter 8

_Oops, this took a while to get written. Sorry. I just hit a complete block for a week or so, then suddenly got unexpectedly super busy (well, it shouldn't have been unexpected, but I am crap at keeping an eye on upcoming things on my calendar) for like three weeks without much of a break._

_But as I am out of town this weekend, and then fairly busy again for the next couple of weeks, I really pushed to get writing this chapter. But I do have more things I need to do before I leave tomorrow morning, so this isn't quite as long as usual chapters. I think the next section could have been a long one though, and I didn't really have time to spend all day writing it. But I figured best to upload a slightly shorter than usual chapter than to leave it another month, right?_

_Hope you enjoy, it is like, 90% fluff. Even compared to previous chapters it is fairly plotless. But even so..._

* * *

After breakfast, which ends up going on until nearly midday, so neither woman is either sure that it really counts as breakfast anymore, their afternoon is spent lounging on Holly's couch watching television. Or arguing about what television to watch. They settle where their interests collide; on a documentary about mammals violently killing each other. Not that you would suspect that would be the topic of their choice, based on their seating arrangement; Gail on her side with her head in the lap of the pathologist, who is playing absentmindedly with her hair.

"Do you prefer me with long or short hair?" Gail asks, during a commercial break.

"Honestly, I don't think I care much. I usually prefer long hair, and I liked yours a lot, but this haircut suits you, it frames your face well. And I like it in the morning when it's sticking up in twenty different directions."

"I can't imagine you with different hair. It just looks right on you."

"In high school I went through a Spice Girls phase, I cut it short and straightened it every day to emulate Posh Spice." Holly recalls. "Remind me to never show you those photos.

"That's really bad for it, Holly." Gail says sternly.

"Coming from little miss bleach-a-lot over here."

"This is my natural colour." Gail deadpans.

"Yeah, right. I've met your brother. And your mother once too, actually; I bet you're a redhead."

"My mother's hair colour is quite obviously not natural. But keep making preposterous suggestions about my natural colour like that and you'll never find out."

"What do you mean…?" Gail looks up at her, eyebrow raised. "Oh right, collars and… right, yeah." Holly's voice fades quickly to nothing.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Stewart. I meant I'll never _tell_ you."

Holly shoves Gail's shoulder lightly and the blonde grins in response. "Don't play innocent with me, Peck."

"I'm always innocent. When did you meet my mother?"

"Police chief's gala last year, my boss introduced us; he'd only just hired me."

"I was at that gala." Gail recalls.

"You were?" Holly tilts her head inquiringly.

"Chief of Police is my Godfather remember? I'm sure I'd be forced to go even if he wasn't, though."

"Right. Sometimes I forget I'm dating police royalty."

Gail pretends to wretch. "Ugh, I wish I could forget. Do you think we saw each other there?"

"I don't know. Probably not. I think I would have remembered if I saw you."

"I don't remember much of anything. I think I spent all night at the bar with Steve."

"Not Nick?"

"It was while he was undercover. Which actually helped me there. I think the only really good thing about him being away was that Mom had absolutely no way to interfere in my love life. Her favourite thing about those Galas is the number of eligible bachelors she can introduce me to. But when you have a boyfriend who's deep undercover she can't do that, but she can't go around interrogating _him_ either."

A worried look passes over Holly's face. "Do you think she'll interrogate me, too?"

"Almost certainly. Unless she takes the whole gay thing badly, then she'll just pretend you don't exist. I honestly don't know which is better."

"She'd do that?"

Gail rolls over and looks up at the pathologist. "Maybe. She has certain expectations of us and getting married and having the 2.4 respectable kids is part of that."

"Gay people can get married and have 2.4 kids too." Holly points out.

"You know what I mean. But I think she'll probably see the plus side of having a gay daughter she can parade around a bit; give her PR a boost."

"That's… good, I guess?"

Gail shrugs. "That's Elaine. But you're so much more successful than any of the men I've ever brought home; she'll probably just overlook the whole uterus thing."

"You think?"

"Probably. Maybe. I don't know, Mom and me aren't really on the same page most of the time, her priorities don't exactly align with most other people's."

"Mom and I." Holly corrects.

"Shush. So where are you taking me tonight?"

Holly's brow furrows in thought. "I don't know, do you want a general _gay _bar or a lesbian bar? And do you want to go to a bar, or a club? And if it's a club, what sort of music?"

"Ugh, too many questions." Gail groans burying her face in the hem of Holly's t-shirt. "Why are there so many choices?"

"You know that the LGBT community isn't one homogenous group, right? We don't _all_ like to do the same thing on a Saturday night." Holly grins.

"I know that." Gail whines. "I just don't like making choices, I don't exactly have a lot of experience to base my decision on. You choose."

"You're the one who wanted to go out."

"But you have the experience to make an informed choice."

"I don't really go out that much. I'm not sure I'm as well informed as you think I am." Holly points out.

"Don't you have a circle of lesbian friends you can ask about these things?"

"Most of my friends are doctors, they don't really have the time to go out much. And even if they did, only some of them are gay."

Gail smirks. "But then who do you go hiking with? Who goes plaid shirt shopping with you? Who…?"

"Okay, you can stop with the ever-so-witty questions." Holly says, raising her eyebrows warningly, but receiving only a grin from the blonde in her lap in return. "I guess we could just go up to the village and see where we fancy going when we get there."

"That sounds like an acceptable course of action. Now shush, I want to find out which one of these lions gets battered." Gail says sternly, turning back to watch the television now the advert break is over.

The side of Holly's mouth curls up into a lopsided smile, and she pinches the blonde's shoulder lightly. "I'm so lucky to have you, utilising me for my science channel subscriptions."

"Don't kid yourself Holly," Gail retorts, eyes not leaving the bloody battle occurring on screen. "If I wasn't here you'd still be watching these documentaries, you just wouldn't have a hot blonde's head in your lap."

"I could have another hot blonde's head in my lap." Holly suggests.

"Yeah right. In the time I've known you, you've only been on a date with one other person, and you left her for me, so…"

"I didn't leave her for you. We didn't click and then it just happened to be that you kissed me the next day."

"Because you were babbling on about how much she didn't mean anything and looking cute and sending me signals left, right and centre."

"Looking cute, huh?" Even after all the touches and kisses and confessions of desire the pair have exchanged in the past few days, Holly's heart skips a little at the compliment.

"Shut up, I'm learning." Gail gestures towards the television and her voice remains steady, but Holly can see the tips of her ears turning pink, and feels a satisfied smirk sweep over her features.

~x~

They have barely moved from the couch all day, save brief trips to the fridge to grab snacks. It hasn't all been watching violent documentaries on the animal kingdom, though. For example, right now Gail is pinned underneath the brunette as her lips and neck are alternately lavished with attention from Holly's lips, teeth and tongue, and tan hands roam over the pale skin of her torso and chest underneath her t-shirt.

"Mmm, I should go and make dinner." Holly says, eventually breaking her mouth from its perpetual contact with the blonde's skin.

"This is good, let's carry on with this." Gail protests, lifting her head to plant a row of kisses along Holly's jaw.

"I don't think…"

Gail attempts to flip them so she's on top, in theory pinning Holly underneath her so she can't leave for the kitchen. In practice, however, there is nowhere near enough room on the couch for the manoeuvre, and they land in a heap on the floor, both thankful for the plush rug on the floor, cushioning their fall. Gail did at least land with her legs pinning one of Holly's thighs underneath her. She could count that as a sort of success. Once the horror at her own indignity has past.

Holly bursts into laughter as Gail's mortified face turns bright red.

"What was that?" Holly gets out through her uncontrollable howls of amusement.

Gail buries her face into the rug beside Holly's head, shaking slightly with the overwhelming combination of humiliation and hilarity.

Holly lies there grinning until Gail works up the motivation to speak.

"Was trying to trap you under me." Gail mutters quietly into Holly's neck eventually.

"Honey." Holly giggles. "I don't think the couch is really the place to be pulling out those moves. Maybe save them for when we're on a bed and actually have the space?"

Gail lifts her head and meets Holly's eyes, eyebrows raised suggestively.

"I still need to cook. And no offence, but that did kind of kill the mood. I think you bruised my hip." Holly continues laughing softly at the situation.

"Sorry." Gail murmurs, but buries herself back into Holly's collar in clear defiance of Holly's intention to get up and move to the kitchen.

Rather than attempt to remove the woman nestling on top of her, Holly takes the moment to wrap her arms tightly around the blonde.

"Is your hip okay?" Gail whispers after a few minutes.

Holly kisses the top of her head softly. "I think I'll survive."

"Screw going out, let's just stay here."

"Just lie here on the floor all night?"

"Yep."

Unfortunately for Gail's plans to remain planted on top of Holly's outstretched body all night, her stomach chooses that moment to rumble. Loudly.

Holly giggles. "I don't think your stomach agrees with you. Come on Spiderman, I'll get started on that dinner."

"Ugh." Gail rolls off the pathologist, but remains lying immobile on the floor as the other woman gets to her feet and brushes the fluff of the carpet from her clothes.

"When did you undo these?" Holly asks, noticing that the bottom few buttons of her button down are hanging open.

Gail shrugs as best she can without lifting her back from the carpet. "While you were busy copping a feel of _these_." She waves her arms vaguely around her chest.

Holly gives an impressed hum. "Very deft."

"All in vain, didn't exactly didn't get to utilise the extra access." Gail grumbles.

"Well, my agile little super cop." Holly starts, as she recloses the buttons. "Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get a second attempt tonight."

Gail props herself up onto her elbows and raises an eyebrow. "Don't make any promises you can't keep, Dr Stewart."

"I'm not _promising_ anything." Holly flashes a grin before heading into the kitchen.

Gail groans and forces herself to her feet, following the other woman who is staring intently into her fridge.

"What are you cooking?" She asks.

"Not sure… chicken casserole?"

Gail shrugs. "How long will it take?"

"Three quarters of an hour, maybe?" Holly turns to look at her. "Why?"

"I think I'm going to head back to the apartment."

A look of confusion and slight panic sweeps across Holly's face. "Why?"

Gail grabs Holly's face gently between her hands. "Just to get some clothes, nerd. I'm not bolting."

"Right. Of course."

Gail plants a soft kiss on the full lips in front of her. "I'll just call Chris and ask him to pick me up."

"Hm, no. Take my car."

"Are you sure?"

"Well I wouldn't usually lend it, but you're a cop, I figure you're a pretty good driver. Although now I'm thinking about it I've never actually _seen_ you drive…"

"Don't worry Holly. I'm an excellent driver. I'll bring her back in one piece."

Holly smiles. "You'd better." She leans in to kiss the blonde again. "Keys are in the bowl on the coffee table."

Holly has only just started collecting ingredients in Gail's brief absence to collect the keys and get dressed for the cold outdoors before she finds herself spun around pushed up against the counter, firm hands on her hips and strong tongue parting her lips.

But it is barely over before it has begun, Holly's hands recovering from their initial shock to just start running through Gail's hair before the police officer pulls back, dark eyed.

"I just didn't want you to forget your promise about tonight." She says in a husky voice, before turning on her heel and marching out of the house.

Holly takes a few moments to gather herself. "I didn't actually promise anything." She shouts just before she hears the front door shutting.

~x~

Gail returns just under an hour later, letting herself in with the spare house keys on Holly's car keys. Much to her surprise, the lights in the entrance hall of the house are turned off, and she gently sets her bag down on the floor and removes her coat.

"Sorry I'm late Hol, I got waylaid by Dov."

She peers into the empty kitchen. Everything is turned off, but there is a definite smell of cooking food lingering in the air.

"Holly?" She calls. "Babe? Sorry, I should have texted. Are you still in?"

"I'm through here." The familiar voice calls from through the living room and she follows it eagerly.

"Oh thank God, I thought… well I don't know what I thought." She walks over to Holly, who is stood at the far end of the living room, an end Gail has never ventured to before, largely due to its lack of television and cushioned seating.

"What, that I'd stormed out in anger at you being ten minutes late?" Holly grins.

"I don't know, maybe?" Gail looks sheepish as she reaches Holly and stands just in front of her.

"I wouldn't leave here when there's food waiting to be eaten." Holly smirks.

"A woman after my own heart." Gail tries to lean past Holly and grab some of the bread that is sitting next to the casserole dish on the table, but Holly slaps her arms lightly.

"Manners." The brunette warns.

"Well are you going to pull me up a seat or something then?" Gail suggests.

Holly scowls sceptically. "Why do _I_ have to pull _you _up a seat?"

"I don't know. It's your house?" She offers. "This is just another question I should have asked you about the logistics of being a lesbian."

"Do you let guys hold your seats for you?" Holly asks, already suspecting she knows the answer.

"Well, no." Gail admits.

"Exactly, you're a twenty-first century woman. Pull your own seat out." Holly's lips turn up into a lopsided satisfied smile.

"But what about _manners_." Gail teases.

"Shut it Peck, sit down and serve yourself. Do you want red or white wine?" She asks as she walks towards the kitchen

"Red." Gail answers as she takes her seat. "Or… whatever you're having." She corrects, realising that may be the more courteous answer.

"Red is good with me." Holly smiles. "Babe."

Gail frowns slightly as she serves herself. "You've never called me babe before." She states, although it is posed as more of a question.

"True, but you just called me it." Holly calls back from the kitchen as she locates an appropriate bottle of wine.

"I did?" Gail questions, serving food onto Holly's plate. "Oh yeah."

"I kind of liked it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Holly ducks down to plant a chaste kiss on the lips of the pale woman as she returns and opens the bottle, filling Gail's glass before taking a seat and filling her own. "Did you get everything you wanted from your apartment?"

"Yep." Gail takes a sip from her glass. "I would have been in and out in five minutes but Dov wanted to ask me all these questions about what he should do about the Chloe having a husband situation. I have no idea why; I am notoriously useless at relationships."

Holly raises an eyebrow. "You're doing pretty well so far."

"It's been less than a week, Holly. Throw in a curveball like you having a husband and I'm not sure I'd deal with that very well at all."

"I'm not sure there _anyone _would deal with that very well." Holly points out.

"You know that's when you're supposed to assure me that you don't have a husband."

"I don't have a husband." Holly states, but Gail's enquiring gaze doesn't abate. "Or a wife." She adds.

"Good. And no secret love-children? No long standing affair with your boss? No straight best friend you secretly lust over?"

"None of the above. Well, maybe the last one."

Holly laughs at Gail's slightly panicked expression. "It's you, dummy."

Gail turns slightly pink, but smiles gently.

"Anyway, there won't be any curveballs of that proportion because I can assure you my life before you was no way interesting enough for my past to have any major influence on this relationship." Holly explains.

"You know I can't say the same thing, right? I mean, I'm a certified mess."

"You're not a mess. And I trust that if things get difficult, you'll do the right thing. But right now, it's easy and it's fun, so let's focus on that, rather than dwelling on hypothetical future encounters with the skeletons in our closets."

Gail narrows her eyes. "You just said there were no skeletons in your closet?"

"Well in my case it's a literal model skeleton from when I was at medical school, but you know. Same difference."

"You're such a dork." Gail says through a mouthful of food.

"And you are super sexy when you talk with your mouth stuffed with chicken." Holly observes.

"Really?"

Holly laughs softly. "No, honey. Sorry. Cute, maybe; sexy, definitely not."

"Yet you do lust over me?" Gail recalls the admission from a couple of minutes ago, grinning.

"Eat up your food, Gail."

"Come on, Holly." Gail whines. "What do you lust over? I need to know so I know which assets to focus on when I get dressed later."

Holly just gives a warning smirk and carries on eating.

"Holly…!"

~x~

Honestly, Holly doesn't know which of Gail's 'assets' she lusts over most, but when she comes downstairs later that evening in a dark blue skirt which so tightly hugs her ass and thighs, with an accompanying loose white blouse, just sheer enough that you can see the shadow of a dark bra underneath, she know that on this night, it's going to be her legs. Long, pale, shaped by the most perfectly curved and defined hips Holly has ever seen. Granted they are made longer by the dark heels she has strapped her feet into, and the blemishes and scars and occasional moles that dot the easily-marked pale skin of her legs are hidden underneath some thin pantyhose, but Holly has seen those legs bare and flat-footed, and knows without a shadow of a doubt that that dress would make them irresistible even without the shoes and thin material covering them.

Holly pops open another button on her blouse when Gail is looking around for her purse in an attempt to even the score, but knows she hasn't even come close.

"Is this okay, to go out in?" Gail asks nervously.

Holly clears her throat. "Yes. It's perfect." She can't draw her eyes up from those toned thighs. Her imagination is in overdrive, her centre pulsing at the thoughts of the things they could do. Or she could do on them.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Definitely. You're going to have your pick of Toronto's lesbians."

"Well I only want one of Toronto's lesbians, so does she like it?"

"She… absolutely likes it. She kind of can't believe that _she _gets to take you out tonight." Holly confesses.

"Well this 'maybe-lesbian-maybe-something-else-who-cares' kind of can't believe _she _gets to be taken out by you. And those boobs. Which I'm fairly sure were not that on display when I first walked into the room." Gail observes, eyes narrowed.

Holly turns a guilty shade of light pink.

"I mean, I'm not complaining." Gail adds, a sparkle in her eye.

"The cab should be here in two minutes." Holly states, but as she says it, a car's horn sounds from outside. "Or right now. Are you sure you don't mind going in a taxi?"

"As long as I'm not alone, it's fine." Gail smiles gently.

Holly returns the smile and pulls on her coat, opening the front door for Gail to head out to the waiting vehicle.

~x~

Leaving Gail at a table at one of her favourite bars whilst she heads to get drinks, Holly is annoyed, but admittedly unsurprised when she returns to find her date is has company.

"Look lady, I am here with someone. And even if I wasn't, my clear disinterest in you should have been enough of a reason for you to leave me alone." Holly can't help but smile as she hears Gail's words, but the blonde hasn't noticed her return yet.

"Where is this mysterious woman, then?" Her admirer asks.

"She's at the bar. So please do me the honour of pissing off, because I'm a cop, and I will find a way to get you on harassment charges."

The admirer raises her arms in defeat. "Fine, but you don't know what you're missing out on." She steps away, leaving Holly with a clear view of her scowling cop.

"I had hoped that being in a bar with very few straight dudes would have reduced that." Gail says, frustrated.

"Nope, there are creeps of every gender." Holly sighs, pouring them both a glass of newly purchased wine.

"And that is why I hate all people." Gail takes a sip from her glass.

Holly pouts slightly.

"Almost all people." Gail corrects herself, before looking around the bar intently, observing the variety of people; all sat at tables drinking or stood, milling around near the stage on the opposite side of the room. "So how many of the girls in here have you slept with?"

Holly chokes slightly on her drink. "Excuse me?

"I won't be jealous, I promise."

"I… I haven't slept with anyone in here."

Gail narrows her eyes suspiciously. "You didn't even look around, you can't possibly know that."

"I haven't slept with anywhere near enough people that it's at all statistically likely any of them are here." Holly argues, but looks around the room nonetheless. "Having said that, I did once make out with the red head over there."

Holly watches for Gail's reaction, and is satisfied when a scowl passes over her features. "The one with the big ears? You could do way better than her, Holly."

"I thought you said you wouldn't get jealous." Holly teases.

"I'm not jealous!" The blonde retorts defensively.

"Of course you're not…"

"I'm not. I'm just saying she's well below you." Gail's expression betrays her though as her eyes scrutinise Holly's features. "You're lying!"

"Hm?" Holly asks innocently.

"You've never even spoken to her, have you?"

Holly's lips curl into a smile. "Never seen her before in my life. I just wanted to see your reaction."

Gail's scowl deepens. "I wasn't jealous."

"I believe you." Holly smiles sweetly, and leans over. "But you don't need to be jealous, you know that, right?" She closes the final distance between them, meeting Gail's lips tenderly with her own.

"I know, who could anyone possibly want more than me?" Gail murmurs when they part, resting their foreheads together.

"Exactly, maybe in less egotistical language, but it's true."

Gail strokes her cheek, and even though her fingers are heavily adorned with rings, Holly doesn't mind the cold of the metal against her skin for the tingling that the sensation of the officer's touch sends through her body. "Thank you… for this week." Gail whispers

"Me? Thank _you_. I never even let myself dream that you…we… this…"

"I'm sorry it took me a while to, you know, realise. Or let myself realise." Gail says softly.

"You don't have to apologise for anything." Holly reassures her.

"Not even for chopping off all my hair in your bathroom?"

Holly kisses her again. "Not even for that."

"Thank you. This should have been a really, truly crappy week. But you, somehow… I don't know. Somehow it wasn't as crap as it should have been, and I'm fairly sure that's thanks to you."

Holly is fairly sure she is beaming with joy at this point. "You've made this week so wonderful for me, too."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

Their deep kiss is broken by the sudden dimming of the lights and the loud booming of a low voice over the sound system. Gail jumps back in shock.

"What's happening?" She asks, eyes darting around the room.

"I think the show's about to start."

"Show?"

"Didn't I mention this bar has drag shows on Saturday nights?" Holly asks innocently.

"…you didn't mention that, no." Gail says slowly.

"Oops." Holly shrugs, grinning. "Come here, you're going to want to be able to see this. Trust me, they're _really _good." Holly pats the empty space beside her on her bench, from where she has a clear view of the stage.

Gail shuffles off her seat and squeezes in next to the brunette, who drapes an arm around her shoulders.

"Is it weird that I'm actually kind of excited to see this?" Gail asks, tentatively.

"Nope, not weird at all. It's fun, that's why I brought you here."

"But we're still going dancing after, right?"

"Of course." Holly whispers into her ear, smiling and inhaling the heavenly scent of her hair as she does so. "I can't wait."

* * *

_Thank you, so much, for reading and once again, sorry it took so long for me to get this written!_

_The next couple of months are not great for me in terms of free time, but I will try to get another chapter out before Christmas (It makes me sad that I used to be able to get a chapter out a week and now it's taking this long, believe me!) I actually have part of chapter 10 written, just none of the next chapter, so maybe there is some solace in the fact that once I get the next chapter done, the one after that shouldn't be too far behind? Maybe._

_Your reviews are appreciate so much, thank you for your lovely words!_

_Until next time! _


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